HouseFresh’s latest study looked at the cleanliness of America’s cities, with Boston making its way on the list as being among the top 10 dirtiest in the country.
A yearlong study looked into 12.3 million sanitation-related complaints from the non-emergency 311 system. With this information, locations were ranked based on the number of sanitation-related reports per 100,000 population, HouseFresh said.
“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, people around the world have been considerably more concerned about contamination and health risks than ever before,” HouseFresh said. From regularly using hand sanitizer to wearing masks on public transport, being more aware of the cleanliness of our surroundings is now second nature.”
Baltimore made the top of the list, with 47,295 sanitary-related complaints made on 311. Sacramento followed with 34,186 complaints made, then by Charlotte and Los Angeles. Memphis made the fifth spot.
“With a staggeringly high complaint rate of 47,295 per 100,000 population, there seems to be a disconnect between the needs of the community and the cleanliness of the city,” HouseFresh said.
This all leads to Boston, the sixth dirtiest city in the United States according to HouseFresh. Bostonians made 10,252 sanitary-related complaints on 311.
The study also breaks down cleanliness and dirtiness based on city zip codes, again based on sanitary-related complaints. For example, Houston hosts the cleanest zip code while Brooklyn is home to the dirtiest.
When looking at cleaner cities with less complaints, the study initially suggests “you might feel more at home in the Midwest.”
“With the smallest number of complaints per 100,000 population, the affordable city of Milwaukee is the cleanest in the U.S., with only 309 reports,” HouseFresh said. “The liberal city of Riverside (California) is not far behind, with a mere 1,609 complaints.”
