Earth Day: How does your state rank in caring for the environment?

Earth Day Photo of Earth With a Black Background Earth Day is today so it’s a good time to look at how the United States is doing in terms of protecting the environment and the earth.

Unfortunately, $182.7 billion in damage from weather and climate disasters occurred in the U.S. during 2024.

Some states are doing better than others to support greener living and protect the environment.

In a new study, WalletHub, a personal finance website, compared the 50 states on 28 metrics related to the health of the environment and residents’ environmental friendliness. It looked at data from green buildings per capita to the share of energy consumption from renewable resources

It’s much easier being green in some states than others, said Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst. For example, if a state doesn’t have a great infrastructure for alternative-fuel vehicles, it’s difficult for residents to adopt the technology. Living in a green state is also beneficial for people’s health, as they benefit from better air, soil and water quality.

“Vermont is the greenest state in America, in part because it has the most organic-farm acreage per capita,” said Lupo. Vermont also has the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per capita and the third-lowest methane emissions per capita.”

In addition, Vermont has the highest number of alternative fuel stations per capita.

Here are the results from the WalletHub report, “202 5 ’s Greenest States”:

Most environmentally friendly states

Overall Rank	State	Total Score	Environmental Quality Rank	Eco-Friendly Behaviors Rank	Climate-Change Contributions Rank
1	Vermont	73.97	2	2	36
2	Hawaii	72.74	1	20	13
3	New York	71.59	3	11	8
4	Maryland	70.01	9	9	4
5	Maine	69.96	6	4	23
6	Minnesota	69.73	4	7	22
7	California	69.22	27	3	6
8	Massachusetts	69.19	5	15	7
9	Washington	68.62	14	5	10
10	Connecticut	67.97	11	13	2

Least environmentally friendly states

40	North Dakota	45.60	17	34	47
41	Arkansas	43.83	42	43	34
42	Texas	42.54	50	32	39
43	Alaska	42.05	43	45	33
44	Wyoming	41.79	28	37	48
45	Oklahoma	39.94	47	38	42
46	Mississippi	39.27	29	49	44
47	Alabama	38.09	25	46	46
48	Kentucky	37.00	37	47	45
49	Louisiana	26.45	48	50	49
50	West Virginia	24.93	31	48	50