Cleanest Environment by State

Ranked by number of EPA Superfund sites. Fewer is better.

Top 15 cleanest states by EPA Superfund sites

EPA Superfund National Priorities List site count, fewer is cleaner

  1. 1
    American Samoa 1 sites
    1.0x the leader's value · rank #1 of 15
  2. 2
    1.0x the leader's value · rank #2 of 15
  3. 3
    1.0x the leader's value · rank #3 of 15
  4. 4
    Guam 2 sites
    2.0x the leader's value · rank #4 of 15
  5. 5
    Nevada 2 sites
    2.0x the leader's value · rank #5 of 15
  6. 6
    North Dakota 2 sites
    2.0x the leader's value · rank #6 of 15
  7. 7
    2.0x the leader's value · rank #7 of 15
  8. 8
    Wyoming 3 sites
    3.0x the leader's value · rank #8 of 15
  9. 9
    Hawaii 4 sites
    4.0x the leader's value · rank #9 of 15
  10. 10
    South Dakota 4 sites
    4.0x the leader's value · rank #10 of 15
  11. 11
    Alaska 9 sites
    9.0x the leader's value · rank #11 of 15
  12. 12
    Idaho 12 sites
    12.0x the leader's value · rank #12 of 15
  13. 13
    Arizona 13 sites
    13.0x the leader's value · rank #13 of 15
  14. 14
    Rhode Island 13 sites
    13.0x the leader's value · rank #14 of 15
  15. 15
    Mississippi 14 sites
    14.0x the leader's value · rank #15 of 15

American Samoa is cleanest with 1 Superfund sites; the #15 cutoff, Mississippi at 14, is still cleaner than 73% of all 56 ranked states.

Source EPA ECHO, Superfund National Priorities List

The bar to make this list

Superfund site count across all 56 ranked states

14 Among the most affordable more affordable than 73% of 56 US states

#15 cutoff 0 160 every ranked state, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source EPA ECHO, Superfund National Priorities List

# State Superfund Sites
1 American Samoa 1
2 District of Columbia 1
3 Northern Mariana Islands 1
4 Guam 2
5 Nevada 2
6 North Dakota 2
7 U.S. Virgin Islands 2
8 Wyoming 3
9 Hawaii 4
10 South Dakota 4
11 Alaska 9
12 Idaho 12
13 Arizona 13
14 Rhode Island 13
15 Mississippi 14
16 Vermont 14
17 West Virginia 14
18 Alabama 16
19 Maine 16
20 Arkansas 17
21 Connecticut 17
22 Oklahoma 18
23 Montana 19
24 Nebraska 19
25 Kansas 20
26 Kentucky 20
27 New Mexico 21
28 Oregon 21
29 New Hampshire 22
30 Georgia 23
31 Colorado 24
32 Utah 24
33 Iowa 25
34 Delaware 26
35 Maryland 26
36 Puerto Rico 26
37 Tennessee 26
38 Louisiana 29
39 South Carolina 34
40 Virginia 35
41 Missouri 39
42 Massachusetts 41
43 North Carolina 42
44 Wisconsin 46
45 Minnesota 49
46 Ohio 50
47 Indiana 53
48 Illinois 56
49 Washington 69
50 Texas 70
51 Florida 81
52 Michigan 90
53 California 116
54 New York 122
55 Pennsylvania 127
56 New Jersey 153

Source: EPA ECHO, Superfund National Priorities List

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking is computed directly from the EPA facility and Superfund data cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.