Insurify’s 2021 Greenest Cities Awards

In these cities, sustainability is not just a trend to hop on but a long-term commitment to improving the community.

Everybody has a part to play in the movement for environmental justice. From everyday habits, like composting and recycling, to long-term governmental reforms, creating more eco-friendly communities is a goal that’s attainable only through conscious effort and participation. There’s no question that individual actions promoting environmental welfare are important — and perhaps easier to implement in the short term. However, making strides on a broader scale through community-level advocacy and policy is also key to ensuring a sustainable future.

From choosing an eco-conscious vehicle (or minimizing driving altogether), to advocating for and implementing policies that encourage the use of renewable energy, there are some communities whose citizens go above and beyond to promote sustainability. In honor of Earth Day this April, the data science team at Insurify selected the city in each state with the strongest commitment to improving the ecosphere — not just on Earth Day, but every day of the year —  as the recipients of the 2021 Greenest Cities Awards.

To identify the greenest city in each state, the data scientists at Insurify, a site to compare home insurance quotes , referred to both proprietary and publicly accessible data. Cities were ranked based on a composite score of factors including air quality , driving rates , hybrid and electric vehicle prevalence, and whether city officials have established a commitment to renewable energy .

Insurify’s data scientists referred to their database of over 4 million car insurance applications to determine the share of hybrid or electric vehicles across U.S. cities. Driving rates were gleaned from Apple Maps Mobility Report data, which documents the volume of queries sent by drivers to Apple Maps over the past year in each city. Because driving traditional automobiles is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, cities with lower volumes of automobile use received a higher score.

Air quality statistics are from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Data reports. Cities with higher proportions of days where air quality was considered “good” over the past year (meaning that air pollution poses little or no risk) received a higher score. States with insufficient municipal data (Delaware, North Dakota, and Vermont) were excluded from the analysis.

Bonus points were awarded to cities that have made community-wide commitments to transition to 100% renewable energy no later than 2050, as reported by the Sierra Club.

Alabama: Tuscaloosa

Alaska: Anchorage

Arizona: Scottsdale

Arkansas: Fayetteville

California: Santa Monica

Colorado: Longmont

Connecticut: Stamford

Florida: Orlando

Georgia: Savannah

Hawaii: Honolulu

Idaho: Boise

Illinois: Chicago

Indiana: Kokomo

Iowa: Ames

Kansas: Lawrence

Kentucky: Louisville

Louisiana: New Orleans

Maine: Portland

Maryland: Bethesda

Massachusetts: Cambridge

Michigan: Ann Arbor

Minnesota: Minneapolis

Mississippi: Gulfport

Missouri: Kansas City

Montana: Missoula

Nebraska: Lincoln

Nevada: Henderson

New Hampshire: Manchester

New Jersey: Edison

New Mexico: Santa Fe

New York: Syracuse

North Carolina: Chapel Hill

Ohio: Columbus

Oklahoma: Enid

Oregon: Portland

Pennsylvania: Reading

Rhode Island: Cranston

South Carolina: Columbia

South Dakota: Sioux Falls

Tennessee: Franklin

Texas: Denton

Utah: West Jordan

Virginia: Arlington

Washington: Seattle

West Virginia: Charleston

Wisconsin: Madison

Wyoming: Cheyenne

If you have any questions or comments about this article, please contact insights@insurify.com .