The Dirtiest Cities in America That No One Should Call Home

There's a wide gap between living in one of the cleanest cities compared to living in one of the dirtiest cities in the world. No U.S. cities appear in World Population Review's top ten dirtiest cities. Regardless of the United States' global standing on cleanliness, there's no doubt that some cities in the country are significantly dirtier than others. Let's assess the 20 dirtiest cities in the United States today.

To figure out what belonged on this list, we started by looking over the data from LawnStarter's 2024 study on the cleanest and dirtiest cities in the United States. The study utilized various metrics, including air quality index, infrastructure availability, and resident dissatisfaction scores. We'll go from least to most dirty. Let's get started!

This post was updated June 18th, 2025, to reflect additional information.

The twentieth dirtiest city in America in 2024, according to LawnStarter's study, was Miami, Flordia. This city scored 43.59 points out of 100 in LawnStarter's metric ranking, earning it its spot in the dirtiest cities in the United States of America. The city scored 40th in air quality, 13th in living conditions, 73rd in infrastructure, and 91st in resident dissatisfaction with the pollution present in the city.

After Miami, Florida, the next on the list for the dirtiest cities in the United States according to LawnStarter is Baltimore, Maryland. In the metric scoring, Baltimore scored 43.89 points out of a possible total of 100, landing it in the top 20 dirtiest cities in the country. Baltimore ranked 71st in air pollution, 29th in overall living conditions, 109th in infrastructure, and 32nd in resident dissatisfaction with the state of pollution in their area.

In 18th place for the dirtiest cities in America, we have Mesa, Arizona. In the overall indexing for all categories, Mesa scored 43.95 points out of a possible total of 100. The city scored 32nd in air pollution rankings, 162nd in overall living conditions scores, 16th in infrastructure, and 67th in resident dissatisfaction with the state of pollution in the area.

If this list is anything to go by, the situation in Fresno, California is quite bad. The city ranked 17th overall in the entire country for the dirtiest city in America. In LawnStarter's overall point ranking, Fresno scored a total of 44.54 points out of the 100 possible points to score. In air quality, Fresno ranked 94th in the country. Regarding the overall living conditions, Fresno ranked 48th. Its infrastructure ranking was 218th in the country and its resident dissatisfaction with the state of pollution in the area was 8th in the country.

It may seem a bit paradoxical for New York City to be both the third cleanest city in the world and also the sixteenth dirtiest city in the United States, but when we remember that World Population Review and LawnStarter probably used different metrics it makes a bit more sense. New York City ranked 16th overall in the total scores for dirtiest cities in the U.S., scoring a total of 44.59 points in the overall battery score. The city ranked 193 in pollution, one of the lowest and likely contributing to its score as one of the cleanest cities in the world. Additionally, it ranked number one in living conditions, 229th in infrastructure, and 21st in resident dissatisfaction with the pollution in the area.

The fifteenth dirtiest city in America is Beaumont, Texas. Out of a total score of 100 points in various categories, Beaumont scored 44.96 points. It ranked 66th in its pollution index as per the metrics laid out by LawnStarter. Additionally, the city ranked 158th in overall living conditions, 54th in infrastructure ratings, and 18th in resident dissatisfaction with pollution.

Another New York city that landed in the top 20 dirtiest cities in America is Yonkers. In LawnStarter's cleanliness battery score, Yonkers scored 45.64 points out of the total 100 possible, making it an exceptionally dirty city compared to rest of the United States. The city of Yonkers ranked 18th in its overall pollution index as per LawnStarter's metrics, its overall living conditions ranked 23rd. In infrastructure, the city ranked 252nd on LawnStarter's list. However, its resident dissatisfaction with pollution was quite high, ranking 23rd in the country.

California is a frequent flier when it comes to cities that are notorious for being less clean thatn people would like them to be. The city of Corona, California ranked 13th overall for the dirtiest cities in America as per LawnStarter's list. In the 100-point battery, Corona scored 45.65 points, just barely getting it in above Yonkers. Corona also ranked 21st in its overall pollution index, 67th in overall living conditions, 85th in infrastructure, and 36th in resident dissatisfaction.

One of the less surprising entries on this list is Flint, Michigan. The living conditions in Flint are pretty bad and likely contribute strongly to its poor rankings within this list. The city ranked 12th overall in the 100-point battery, scoring a total of 45.67 points. Flint's pollution score was ranked 131st in the study. Its living conditions rank was 10th and its infrastructure rank was 166th. Perhaps coming as no surprise, Flint residents aren't overly happy with the living conditions in the area, ranking 9th in resident dissatisfaction with the pollution in the area.

Yet another California city scoring high in the list of dirtiest cities in the United States is Los Angeles, probably coming as no surprise for many readers. In the overall rankings, Los Angeles came in 11th, scoring 46.37 points out of a possible total of 100. The city ranked 45th in its overall pollution index, 12th in the living conditions index, 193rd in infrastructure, and 20th in resident dissatisfaction with the state of pollution and cleanliness in the city.

The city of Baytown, Texas is the tenth dirtiest city in the nation according to LawnStarter's study. Baytown scored 46.67 total points out of a possible 100 on the overall battery. In individual categories, Baytown ranked number 1 in pollution, making it the most polluted city in America. Its living condition ranking is 122. The city also had an infrastructure ranking of 84 and a resident dissatisfaction rate of 107.

Looking closer at the top ten dirtiest cities according to LawnStarter's study, we have the city of Houston, Texas. This Texas metro area ranked ninth in the country on the LawnStarter's 100-point battery for city cleanliness, scoring 46.73 points. Regarding the individual categories,Houston ranked 12th for having the most pollution, 115th in living conditions, 11th in infrastructure availability, and 50th for resident dissatisfaction with the pollution situation in the area.

Probably surprising no one, Las Vegas, Nevada is one of the most polluted and dirty cities in the United States. The non-stop party of the area doesn't lend well to a pristine cityscape. In LawnStarter's 100-point battery test for city cleanliness, Las Vegas scored a total of 46.82 points. In the individual categories, the city came in 31st for overall pollution levels, 110th for living conditions, 3rd for infrastructure, and 53rd in resident dissatisfaction with the overall cleanliness of the city.

Once again moving to the Northeastern United States, we have Trenton, New Jersey in seventh place for the most polluted city in America. The city scored a total of 47.71 points on the overall cleanliness battery test. Looking at the individual categories, Trenton ranked 95th on overall pollution levels, 14th in living conditions, 149th on infrastructure, and 6th in resident dissatisfaction with the pollution in the area.

Coming in sixth in the nation for the dirtiest cities in the country is Phoenix, Arizona. The city scored 47.82 total points in the 100-point battery test assessing city cleanliness. In individual categories, the city of Phoenix, Arizona ranked 20th for overall pollution levels, 150th in living conditions, 1st for infrastructure, and 54th for resident dissatisfaction levels. (Remember that low numbers indicate a worse situation.)

Now onto the top five dirtiest cities in the United States, we have Ontario, California in the fifth place slot. In the overall cleanliness battery test, Ontario, California scored 49.02 points out of 100 possible. Regarding the individual categories, Ontario ranked 5th in overall pollution levels, 52nd in living conditions, 206th in infrastructure, and 13th in resident dissatisfaction with the overall pollution levels in the area.

Looking back up at the Northeastern United States, Newark, New Jersey was the fourth dirtiest city in the country. In LawnStarter's 100-point cleanliness battery, the city of Newark scored 50.66 points in total. Assessing the individual categories, Newark ranked 33rd in overall pollution levels, 11th in living conditions, 180th in infrastructure, and 3rd in overall resident dissatisfaction with the level of pollution in the area.

Moving up to the top three dirtiest cities as per LawnStarter's study, the third place slot goes to Reading, Pennsylvania. The city of Reading scored 51.85 points on LawnStarter's 100-point battery for city cleanliness. Regarding the individual categories, the city ranked 14th in overall pollution score, 35th in living conditions, 220th in infrastructure, and 2nd in resident dissatisfaction with the pollution in the area.

Possibly the most surprising thing about Detroit, Michigan being on this list is that it isn't first. The city gets a notoriously bad reputation from people outside of the area and people who live there alike. In the overall cleanliness battery, Detroit scored 52.89 points out of 100 possible. Looking at individual categories, the city ranked 19th in overall pollution levels, 4th in living conditions, 163rd in infrastructure, and 5th in resident dissatisfaction with the pollution levels in the area.

The number one dirtiest city in America according to LawnStarter's yearly study is San Bernardino, California. The city of San Bernardino scored 54.90 points out of a possible total of 100 in the city cleanliness battery. In the individual categories, it ranked 2nd in overall pollution levels, 56th in living conditions, 207th in infrastructure, and 1st in resident dissatisfaction with the state of cleanliness in the city.