California ranks as the “greenest” state in America thanks to rooftop solar, water conservation and electric vehicles, according to a report released Wednesday by the WalletHub personal finance website.
“Eco-friendliness and personal finance are related,” noted Miami-based WalletHub in its introduction to the ranking. “Our environmental and financial needs are the same in many areas.”
States were ranked on environmental quality, eco-friendly behavior and contribution to climate-change using 25 metrics ranging from water quality to LEED-certified buildings to greenhouse gas emissions.
California was followed by Vermont and New York, while West Virginia came in last, followed by Louisiana and Alabama.
“California is the greenest state in America, in part because it has the most energy-efficient public policies,” WalletHub said. “One contributor to the state’s energy efficiency is the fact that its residential solar power installations have a very high capacity per capita compared to most states.”
The Golden State also ranked first in water conservation and sixth lowest in gasoline use per capita, in part because of support to electric vehicles and and public transportation.