In this article, we look at The Dirtiest Cities In America 2020. By this, we mean the dirtiest cities in the United States of America. To generate this list, BusyBee, a cleaning, and janitorial services company in the US compiled data from the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Housing Survey, and also the U.S. Census Bureau to determine which major American metropolitan cities are the dirtiest. Factors considered in ranking these cities include litter, pests, particulate matter air pollution, population density, and nitrogen dioxide air pollution. So which American cities rank as the dirtiest in 2020? The piece below will answer your queries about this topic.
TOP 10 DIRTIEST CITIES IN AMERICA 2020- ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW
- #1. New York City
Dirtiest Cities In America is New York City. New York, the city that never sleeps, has a serious trash problem. Manhattan, the most densely populated of New York City’s five boroughs wins by a landslide when it comes to pests, litter, and population density. Take a stroll down any street, and you are certain to encounter mountain pile of trash bags emitting a sickly sweet rotten smell that is unique to New York. It used to be said that the island has as many rats as humans, but recent studies have found this not to be true, but still, there are lots of rats living underground in New York. It’s not all gloomy for New York though as the city has half as much air pollution as some of the other cities on this list. This proves that it is a little safer to breathe the stinky air of New York City.
- #2. Los Angeles
The second filthiest city in the US is Los Angeles. The city of Angels is famous for its smog which has earned it the runner-up position for the dirtiest city in the United States. That L. A is second on this list wouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with the mid-afternoon smog haze in the city on any given day. The main contributing factor to Los Angeles ranking high on the list is poor air quality although the city also has issues of plenty of litters and pests. All these make the city a very dirty place to live and play. Los Angeles is a sprawling city located in Southern California. It is the center of the nation’s film and television industry. Studios such as Paramount Pictures, Warner Brothers and Universal which are located near its iconic Hollywood sign offer behind-the-scenes tours.
- #3. Riverside-San Bernardino
The 3rd city on this list of Dirtiest Cities In America 2020 is Riverside-San Bernardino. The city gets the 3rd spot because of its terrible air quality. Riverside-San Bernardino doesn’t seem likely to cut dirtiest American city, after all, every other city on the list is a major metropolitan hub. But the truth is that the air quality in this California city is abysmal. The American Lung Association graded air quality in this region an “F” thanks largely to the daily presence of particle pollution. There are initiatives that push cleaner vehicles as well as other clean air policies that are currently helping bur there is still a long way to go to save this city from being ranked as the third dirtiest city in America.
- #4. Chicago
The city of Chicago has plenty of filthy neighborhoods. The Midwest doesn’t get much dirtier than Chicago. This dirt phenomenon plaguing Chicago is connected to the high level of population in the city. When you have that many people as Chicago has in one geographical location, there is bound to be litter, and anywhere you have a litter, there is a high risk of pests eating up all those food remnants. Residents of Chicago, however, dispute this claim, saying there are plenty of clean streets in their city. But for every pristine stretch of sidewalk, you find in Chicago; a filthy walkway exists just a few blocks away. Picture all of them together, and you are faced with the fourth dirtiest city in America.
- #5. Philadelphia
Philadelphia because of its serious sanitation and air quality issues gets 5th spot on this list. The city is plagued by rodents, air pollution, population density all of which contribute to the level of filth that exists in this city. To further compound the problem, refineries and chemical plants also contribute to the 18.5 million pounds of toxic release that originates in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania and is notable for its rich history that is on display at the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, where both the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed and also at other American Revolutionary sites.
- #6. Phoenix
Sitting top of the bottom half of this list is Phoenix, Arizona. The city has a chronic air pollution problem. The air pollution in Phoenix is just outright awful which is why the city earns a 6th place on the list. Although most of the major air pollution in America is attributed to California cities, Phoenix is a major culprit too. The American Lung Association listed the city of Phoenix as a big offender on their list of most polluted.
- #7. Houston
Houston, Texas, is 7th on this list of Dirtiest Cities In America 2020. Although the state of Texas has plenty of dirty cities, Houston ranks top of them all for having the third most pests in the e tire state. Another contributing factor to Houston making this list of dirtiest American cities is the presence of a high number of petrochemical industries in the city. The city is home to the highest concentration of oil refineries and chemical plants in America, making it a haven for toxic air pollution. Buildings along the Ship Channel are said to pump out more than 20 million pounds of polluted air each year.
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- #8. Denver
Denver finds itself on this list simply because of pollution. Although residents of Denver take pride in their healthy, active, outdoor lifestyles, all that physical activity might be wasted when you stop for a second to consider the sub-standard air quality. The 8th Dirtiest City In America 2020 has a disproportionately high amount of particulate air pollution that is fondly known as smog. The EPA blames a host of factors for the poor air quality in Denver including; industrial facilities, electric utilities, and also vehicle exhaust.
- #9. San Francisco
The major plague facing San Francisco is human waste. This inability to deal with human waste effectively has landed San Francisco on this list in 9th place. In San Francisco, there are beautiful, picturesque areas but then there is the rest of the city, which has a moderately high population of homeless people. As it is, people living on the street do not necessarily have access to public bathroom facilities which is why they are often forced to relieve themselves out in the open, and this does not help the filth factor. A few years back, the sheer amount of human waste on the escalator of the BART station forced the station to shut down until a HAZMAT team could take care of the problem. This sort of scenario is sadly not uncommon in San Francisco.
- #10. Miami
The city of Miami is the 10th dirtiest city in America currently. This international city is located at Florida’s southeastern tip. The city is highly influenced by Cuba, reflected in the cafes and cigar shops that line Calle Ocho in Little Havana. Unfortunately, this highly populated city is pest infested leading to a high number of pests per citizen. If the residents of Miami decided to take cockroaches or other vermin out to nightclubs, they would find their fair share of dance partners hanging out in the shadows.
Conclusion On Top 10 Dirtiest Cities In America 2020- All You Need To Know
America is home to many famous metropolitan cities with huge populations. Some of these cities are featured on this list as they are plagued by severe filth and air pollution problems. In some of the cities listed here, the population of pests is just overwhelming contributing largely to the level of dirt in the city. Some other cities that are featured on this list found themselves here because of severe air pollution issues that are attributed to the prevalence of petrochemical companies in such cities. For whatever reason they may have made a list, these are the Top 10 Dirtiest Cities In America 2020.
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