Two Iowa Cities Ranked Among the Cleanest in America

This is one list where ranking lower is better!

The website Lawnstarter examined the cleanest and dirtiest cities in America. Lawnstarter even expanded their scope to encompass over 300 of the biggest cities in the country. Among 21 total metrics, Lawnstarter looked specifically at air pollution, water quality, waste management, and resident dissatisfaction levels in order to quantify their findings.

What was revealed is that Iowa has two of the cleanest cities in America, per Lawnstarter's metrics!

Coming in as the eighth cleanest city in America is Sioux City, IA with an overall score of 21.46 (the lower, the better in terms of cleanliness). Sioux City polled very well when it came to the city's handling of pollution and infrastructure.

Conversely, 10 California cities in the Inland Empire, including San Bernardino, which was ranked as America's dirtiest city, were found to have the worst median air quality. This is likely due to the shipping industry in the region, with a freight corridor having over 4,000 warehouses and nearly 600,000 diesel-fueled trucks driving through the region on a daily basis.

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Right behind Sioux City at #9 for the cleanest city in America is Des Moines, IA, solidifying two Iowa cities in the top ten for most well-kept cities in the entire country. Des Moines ranked favorably across the board, with high marks in how the city handles pollution and infrastructure, living conditions, and a relatively low dissatisfaction rate amongst its residents.

Here's Lawnstarter's analysis of two Iowa cities coming in the top 10 for cleanest in the country:

Cities in Iowa and Virginia — like Des Moines (No. 295) and Roanoke (No. 297) — score among the least dirty cities in our ranking, near Lynchburg, Virginia, in last place. These cities enjoy less noxious air and near-roadway pollution, low excess fuel consumption, and higher resident satisfaction. - per Lawnstarter

See the complete findings of Lawnstarter's study on their website.

WHILE YOU'RE AT IT, TAKE A LOOK BACK AT THE TIME SIOUX CITY, IA WAS FEATURED ON THE SHOW, THE X-FILES!