California Cities Rank Among Dirtiest In America Despite Gavin Newsom’s Green Energy Largesse

Californian cities rank among the dirtiest in America, with ten cities in the Golden State tying for the worst median air quality in the U.S., according to the lawn care website known as LawnStarter. San Bernardino was…

Audrey Streb·Aug 27, 2025·3 min read

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Californian cities rank among the dirtiest in America, with ten cities in the Golden State tying for the worst median air quality in the U.S., according to the lawn care website known as LawnStarter.

San Bernardino was named the dirtiest city in America, with Los Angeles not far behind, according to the LawnStarter analysis. Though Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed for aggressive climate goals that have led to stringent regulations and routed billions into green energyinitiatives, numerous cities in his state still rank among the most polluted in America, according to LawnStarter.

“San Bernardino, California, ranks as the dirtiest city for the 2nd year in a row,” the analysis states. “Out of the cities in our ranking, San Bernardino has the highest share of residents dissatisfied with pollution — 75% — and ties with 9 other California cities with the worst median air quality.” Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Mario Tama via Getty Images)

Several other cities tied with Los Angeles for the dirtiest in the U.S., including Detroit, Michigan, and Reading, Pennsylvania, according to LawnStarter. Two other Californian cities made the top ten, including Ontario and Corona, according to the analysis.

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California Cities Rank Among Dirtiest In America Despite Gavin Newsom’s Green Energy Largesse — IJR

LawnStarter ranked the 500 largest U.S. cities with sufficient available data, scoring them on four factors — pollution, inadequate living conditions, poor waste infrastructure and resident dissatisfaction —before determining each city’s overall placement out of 100, according to the company.

Notably, the top ten cities in the U.S. that produced the most greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per capita did not make it into the top ten dirtiest or most polluted cities, according to LawnStarter.

Local college students collected 500 pounds of trash across San Bernardino this year, the analysis noted, and Los Angeles’ homeless crisiscontinued despite numerous clean up attempts.

Newsom has pushed for aggressive green Energy targets, boasting that California’s grid runs on 100% “clean energy” for an average of seven hours a day and that the state has the “most ambitious climate action plan in the world” on his website. Energy policy experts have also linked this green technology push to soaring Energy costs in the state, which are projected to increase as two major refineries prepare to shudder under the strain of stringent state regulations, sector experts havenoted.

Newsom’s office did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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