With Earth Day right around the corner, RealtyTrac wanted to find out where the most Earth-friendly counties resided. Analyzing various datasets including percent of good air quality days, the percent of people who walk to work, and then the best counties based on affordability.
It’s no surprise that good air quality is a great way to gage how friendly a county is being to the environment. Topping the list is Monterey, Calif., with 99.2 percent of good air quality days and then Shasta, Calif. (99.2 percent) nipping at the heels while Kent, R.I. (99.1 percent); Cass, N.D. (99 percent); and Saint Lawrence, N.Y. (99 percent) are close.
State
|
County
|
Population
|
% of Good Air Quality Days
|
California
|
Monterey
|
428,826
|
99.2%
|
California
|
Shasta
|
178,980
|
99.2%
|
Rhode Island
|
Kent
|
165,035
|
99.1%
|
North Dakota
|
Cass
|
162,829
|
99.0%
|
New York
|
Saint Lawrence
|
111,963
|
99.0%
|
*Only looked at those counties with a population greater than 100,000
In keeping with air quality, RealtyTrac gathered data on the percent of people who walk to work. It’s no surprise that New York far exceeds the national average with 20 percent of people walking to work, while Suffolk, Mass. (13.8 percent); Tompkins, N.Y. (13.6 percent); Washington D.C. (11.9 percent) and Hampshire, Mass. (10.6 percent) trail behind.
State
|
County
|
Population
|
% of People who Walk
|
New York
|
New York
|
1,626,159
|
20.0
|
Massachusetts
|
Suffolk
|
755,503
|
13.8
|
New York
|
Tompkins
|
103,617
|
13.6
|
District of Columbia
|
District Of Columbia
|
646,449
|
11.9
|
Massachusetts
|
Hampshire
|
159,596
|
10.6
|
*Only looked at those counties with a population greater than 100,000
After reviewing the Earth-friendly factors, RealtyTrac narrowed down the list by factoring in affordability, where walking to work was greater than 3 percent, and the air quality was the greatest to come up with a top 10 list of most Earth-friendly counties:
State
|
County
|
Population
|
% of People who Walk
|
% of Good Air Quality Days
|
2015 Pct of Median Income to Buy Median Priced Home (10% Down)
|
New York
|
Oswego
|
121,165
|
5.1
|
96.4%
|
11%
|
New York
|
Saint Lawrence
|
111,963
|
5.3
|
99.0%
|
11%
|
New York
|
Niagara
|
214,249
|
3.2
|
91.5%
|
12%
|
New York
|
Broome
|
197,534
|
4.5
|
95.6%
|
13%
|
New York
|
Oneida
|
233,585
|
4.3
|
96.2%
|
13%
|
Pennsylvania
|
Beaver
|
170,115
|
3.4
|
93.6%
|
13%
|
Georgia
|
Richmond
|
202,003
|
3.1
|
95.3%
|
14%
|
Pennsylvania
|
Erie
|
280,294
|
3.3
|
92.6%
|
14%
|
Michigan
|
Ingham
|
282,234
|
5.9
|
91.7%
|
14%
|
Maryland
|
Baltimore City
|
622,104
|
6.8
|
93.4%
|
14%
|
*Only looked at those counties with a population greater than 100,000