Houstonians may be feeling blue about a new ranking of the greenest cities in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Among the country\u2019s 100 largest cities based on population, Houston ranks 99th across 28 key indicators of \u201cgreen\u201d living in a new study<\/a> from personal finance website WalletHub. The only city with a lower ranking is Glendale, Arizona. Last year, Houston landed at No. 98<\/a> on the WalletHub list.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Green\u2019 living means a choice to engage in cleaner, more sustainable habits in order to preserve the planet as much as possible,\u201d WalletHub says.<\/p>\n Among the study\u2019s ranking factors are the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per capita, the number of \u201csmart energy\u201d policies, and the presence of \u201cgreen job\u201d programs.<\/p>\n In the study, Houston received an overall score of 35.64 out of 100. WalletHub put its findings into four buckets, with Houston ranked 100th in the environment and transportation categories, 56th in the lifestyle and policy category, and 52nd in the energy sources category.<\/p>\n In the environment category, Houston has two big strikes against it. The metro area ranks among the 10 worst places for ozone pollution (No. 7) and year-round particle pollution (No. 8), according to the American Lung Association\u2019s 2025 list of the most polluted cities<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the WalletHub study, San Jose, California, earns the honor of being the country\u2019s greenest city. It\u2019s followed by Washington, D.C.; Oakland, California; Irvine, California; and San Francisco.<\/p>\n Houston ranks the lowest out of all Texas cities in the report. Here is where other Texas cities landed:<\/p>\n \u201cThere are plenty of things that individuals can do to adopt a green lifestyle, from recycling to sharing rides to installing solar panels on their homes,\u201d WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said in the report. \u201cHowever, living in one of the greenest cities can make it even easier to care for the environment, due to sustainable laws and policies, access to locally grown produce, and infrastructure that allows residents to use vehicles less often. The greenest cities also are better for your health due to superior air and water quality.\u201d<\/p>\n —<\/p>\n\n