Best States for Environmental Protection

The U.S. produces over 292 million tons of waste per year, or over 4.9 pounds per person per day, according to the latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Additionally, due to pollution, California, Oregon, Michigan, Indiana and South Carolina each have over 12,000 miles of river unsuitable for human contact. Pollution and waste are issues across the U.S., but some states work harder than others to limit their impact.

In order to highlight states that understand nature’s importance and the ones that need to improve, SmileHub compared the 50 states across 23 key metrics. The data set ranges from energy efficiency score to industrial toxins per square mile of land area to climate change vulnerability.

If you want to support environmental protection but don’t know where to donate, check out our picks for the Best Charities for Environmental Protection in 2024.

• Main Findings
• Methodology

Main Findings

Most Environmentally-Friendly States

Overall Rank*	State	Total Score	Environmental Protection Rank	Energy Consumption & Waste Disposal Rank	Emission & Pollution Contributions Rank
1	California	80.07	1	5	8
2	New York	79.47	6	1	3
3	Washington	73.59	8	4	7
4	Massachusetts	72.44	5	2	17
5	Maryland	71.99	7	9	5
6	Vermont	71.05	13	3	12
7	Colorado	70.75	2	16	10
8	Hawaii	70.09	14	10	1
9	Oregon	68.70	4	8	21
10	Connecticut	68.25	26	6	2
11	Virginia	66.01	9	18	9
12	Rhode Island	65.90	24	12	4
13	New Jersey	65.68	10	13	20
14	Maine	65.61	32	11	6
15	Minnesota	64.35	37	7	13
16	Pennsylvania	61.19	12	17	23
17	New Hampshire	60.54	27	15	14
18	North Carolina	60.01	22	19	11
19	Illinois	59.00	23	14	22
20	Michigan	57.53	33	20	16
21	Utah	55.90	20	30	18
22	Texas	53.52	19	31	27
23	Idaho	52.95	15	36	25
24	Wisconsin	52.85	28	29	24
25	New Mexico	52.58	17	28	32
26	Montana	52.56	11	35	30
27	Missouri	52.33	36	26	26
28	South Carolina	51.53	41	40	15
29	Ohio	51.45	21	25	33
30	South Dakota	51.30	39	32	19
31	Arizona	51.28	29	21	36
32	Florida	51.01	16	24	39
33	Georgia	49.93	35	27	28
34	Nevada	49.80	25	22	40
35	Delaware	49.21	30	23	38
36	Alaska	47.32	3	45	45
37	Tennessee	44.32	38	43	31
38	Iowa	44.20	31	33	42
39	Indiana	43.98	42	37	34
40	Arkansas	43.85	43	38	35
41	Nebraska	43.04	47	41	29
42	Kansas	41.31	46	34	41
43	Wyoming	39.29	18	49	43
44	Oklahoma	39.08	50	39	37
45	Kentucky	38.44	45	42	44
46	North Dakota	37.13	44	44	46
47	Alabama	35.78	40	47	47
48	West Virginia	29.65	49	46	49
49	Louisiana	29.65	34	50	50
50	Mississippi	28.89	48	48	48

Notes: *1 = Best

With the exception of “Total Score,” all of the columns in the table above depict the relative rank of that state, where a rank of 1 represents the best conditions for that metric category.

Methodology

In order to determine the best states for environmental protection, SmileHub compared the 50 states across three key dimensions: 1) Environmental Protection, 2) Energy Consumption & Waste Disposal and 3) Emission & Pollution Contributions.

We evaluated those dimensions using 23 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the highest level of eco-friendliness. For metrics marked with an asterisk (*), the square root of the population was used to calculate the population size in order to avoid overcompensating for population differences across states.

We then determined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

Environmental Protection - Total Points: 30

• Share of State Land Designated for Parks and Wildlife: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Number of State Conservation Programs and Initiatives: Half Weight (~3.33 Points)
  Note: This metric refers to the number of conservation programs listed for each state by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service that directly or indirectly help the animals in each state.
• Environmental Protection Charities per Capita*: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
• Green Buildings per Capita*: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the number of LEED-certified units per capita.
• Vulnerability to Climate Change: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
  Note: This metric is determined by taking the average number of days of climate shift index values of 3 or higher, based on Climate Central data from December 2023 through February 2024. Record-shattering temperatures and widespread local heat extremes are among the deadliest weather-related hazards, so the greater the number of days, the more vulnerable to climate change we consider the state.

Energy Consumption & Waste Disposal - Total Points: 35

• Energy Efficiency Score: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
• Share of Renewable Energy Consumption: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
• Energy Consumption per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
• Gasoline Consumption (in Gallons) per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
• Share of Population Using Green Transportation: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the percentage of the population who walk, bike, carpool, take public transportation or work from home.
• State Renewable Portfolio Standards: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
  Note: This binary metric considers the presence or absence of renewable portfolio standards in the states. Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) require that a specified percentage of the electricity that utilities sell comes from renewable resources.
  • 0 - States and territories with no standard or target;
    
  • 0.5 - States and territories with a voluntary renewable energy standard or target;
    
  • 1 - States and territories with Renewable Portfolio Standards
    
• Soil Quality: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the difference between the median soil pH level and the optimal soil pH level.
• Daily Water Consumption per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
• Water Efficiency and Sustainability Score: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)
  Note: This metric is based on data from Alliance for Water Efficiency’s “2022 State Policy Scorecard for Water Efficiency and Sustainability” report.
• Total Tonnage of Landfill Waste per Capita*: Full Weight (~3.50 Points)

Emission & Pollution Contributions - Total Points: 35

• Share of Population Served by Community Water Systems with a Serious Drinking Water Violation: Full Weight (~4.38 Points)
  Note: Violations, which are determined by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or an approved primary agency, are required to be reported by the Safe Drinking Water Act.
  According to the EPA website, violations fall into the following categories:
  Health Based - These violations fall into three categories: 1) exceedances of the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) which specify the highest allowable contaminant concentrations in drinking water, 2) exceedances of the maximum residual disinfectant levels (MRDLs), which specify the highest concentrations of disinfectants allowed in drinking water, and 3) treatment technique requirements, which specify certain processes intended to reduce the level of a contaminant.
  Monitoring and Reporting - Failure to conduct regular monitoring of drinking water quality, or to submit monitoring results in a timely fashion to the state primacy agency or EPA, as required by SDWA.
  Public Notice - Violations of the public notification requirements, which require systems to alert consumers if there is a serious problem with their drinking water or if there have been other violations of system requirements, as required by SDWA.
  Other - Violations of other requirements of SDWA, such as failing to issue annual consumer confidence reports.
  The EPA has developed a system that assigns either one, five, or ten points to each violation as a reflection of the violation's severity. Systems called "serious violators" are an aggregate score of at least eleven points as a result of some combination of: unresolved more serious violations (such as MCL violations related to acute contaminants), multiple violations (health-based, monitoring and reporting, public notification and/or other violations), and/or continuing violations.
• States with Electronic Waste Recycling Programs: Full Weight (~4.38 Points)
• Carbon Dioxide Emissions per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.38 Points)
• Methane Emissions per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.38 Points)
• Nitrous Oxide Emissions per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.38 Points)
• Fluorinated Greenhouse Gas Emissions per Capita*: Full Weight (~4.38 Points)
• Median Air Quality Index: Full Weight (~4.38 Points)
  Note: This metric measures the average exposure of the general public to particulate matter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5) or less in size.
• Industrial Toxins per Square Mile of Land Area: Full Weight (~4.38 Points)

 
Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Internal Revenue Service, Department of Agriculture, Green Building Council, Climate Central, American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, U.S. Energy Information Administration, National Conference of State Legislatures, The Fertilizer Institute, U.S. Geological Survey, Alliance for Water Efficiency, Environmental Protection Agency and United Health Foundation.