Anyone who’s spent enough time in Atlanta has probably spotted an annoying mound of street-side litter, a couple of rats (we’re Rat-lanta, after all), and a cockroach the size of a flip phone. But it could be worse. Much worse.

That’s according to a new analysis titled “2024’s Dirtiest Cities in America” that ranked hundreds of urban places based on four categories to determine the “filthiest” among them.  

The study was compiled by LawnStarter, a national online company offering professional lawn care services that occasionally compiles city-centric rankings. Its team of experts included academics and scientists, and data for the study was sourced from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, U.S. Department of Energy, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, among other sources. 

The analysis was expanded this year to include 303 of the largest U.S. cities, ranking them based on air pollution, waste management, water quality, and resident dissatisfaction levels as part of 21 total metrics.  

With its No. 60 rating, Atlanta didn’t exactly come off squeaky-clean.

But many major cities—and dozens of smaller ones, such as No. 3 “dirtiest” Reading, PA—fared worse.

Atlanta's ranking among 303 U.S. cities studied in 2024. LawnStarter

Interestingly, no cites in the Southeast landed in the top 20 on the inglorious ranking, unless you count Miami (No. 20).

Analysts noted the list’s lowest performers, such as San Bernardino, CA (No. 1), and Detroit (No. 2), aren’t necessarily choked with pests and trash, but have grappled with high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, drinking water violations, and polluted air. (The list began with America’s 500 largest cities overall but was whittled down because 197 of them lacked sufficient data in at least one of the categories.)

Atlanta scored best in the broad “Living Conditions Rank,” landing in the top half of the study at 167 of 303. The city's ranking in the pollution category—No. 51—was less flattering.

LawnStarter

How’d Georgia’s other large cities fare on the dirty-o-meter?

Augusta ranked best/highest (No. 265), followed by Columbus (235), Savannah (234), Warner Robbins (222), Athens (222), and Macon (97).  

Find a deeper dive into the study’s methodology here.

LawnStarter

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