9 FL Cities Named Some Of Dirtiest Cities In America: Study

FLORIDA — A new study finds that Hollywood, Florida, is one of the dirtiest cities in America, while several other cities in the Sunshine State — including Tampa, St. Petersburg and Orlando — also made the list.

According to the lawn care company, LawnStarter, Virginia Beach, Virginia was named cleanest on the company's 2023’s Dirtiest Cities in America list, while Houston, Texas, was the worst.

Other Florida cities on the list were:

• No. 18 Hollywood
• No. 20 Fort Lauderdale
• No. 24 Orlando
• No. 38 Tampa
• No. 41 Miami
• No. 61 St. Petersburg
• No. 75 Port St. Lucie
• No. 93 Jacksonville
• No. 130 Tallahassee

LawnStarter says that while city living has its advantages, having more residents usually equates with more pollution, more rats and more trash. However, the problem is worse in some cities than in others.

Top 15 Dirtiest Cities in America:

1. Houston, TX
2. Newark, NJ
3. San Bernardino, CA
4. Detroit, MI
5. Jersey City, NJ
6. Bakersfield, CA
7. San Antonio, TX
8. Fresno, CA
9. Oklahoma City, OK
10. Yonkers, NY
11. Shreveport, LA
12. New York, NY
13. Birmingham, AL
14. Ontario, CA
15. Los Angeles, CA

For each of the 200 biggest U.S. cities, LawnStarter gathered publicly available data on pollution, living conditions, infrastructure and consumer satisfaction. They then calculated weighted scores for each city in each category. Finally, they averaged the scores for each city across all categories. After eliminating 48 cities that lacked sufficient data for a fair comparison, they came up with a final sample size of 152 cities. The city that earned the highest average score was ranked "dirtiest" (No. 1), while the city with the lowest was ranked "cleanest" (No. 152).

During the pandemic, lockdowns helped clean our air and water, but old habits apparently die hard, according to LawnStarter. Nearly three years later, pollution is worse in many urban areas, and U.S. emissions are back up. In many cities, residents also deal with pests, litter and bad waste-management services.

Not only are these problems unsightly — they might be more harmful than we realize, according to the lawn care company. Air pollution can worsen lung cancer and increases our chances of heart disease and stroke. Dealing with dirt and grime can be quite draining on municipal budgets as well.

"Dirty cities aren’t just an eyesore — they also damage our bodies and our wallets," LawnStarter said. As spring cleaning season arrives, the company says it's a good time to check on our dirty habits and make positive changes for a healthier life and a more beautiful city to enjoy.

See the full list of dirtiest cities in the U.S. and find out more details about the methodology here.