In a new study on urban cleanliness, the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area has been crowned the dirtiest in the United States, with Newark and Jersey City in New Jersey playing significant roles in dragging down the region’s overall score.
The research, conducted by Oxi Fresh, a national carpet cleaning franchise, highlights persistent issues like pest infestations, litter, and poor air quality that plague these densely populated hubs.
The study, titled “The Cleanest Cities in the United States: A 2025 Study,” evaluated 35 major U.S. metropolitan areas based on seven key criteria: population density, prevalence of rodents and cockroaches, vandalism, litter, air quality, and tap water quality.
Each area received a cleanliness score out of 700 and a letter grade from A+ to D. The New York-Newark-Jersey City region, home to over 19 million people, scored a dismal 337.7 points and earned a “D” grade, landing it at the bottom of the list.
Newark and Jersey City, both in Essex and Hudson counties respectively, contribute heavily to the metro area’s woes. The region boasts the highest population density among those studied at 3,176 people per square mile, which exacerbates problems like waste management and pest control. According to the findings, 17% of housing units in the area show signs of rodents, while 20.1% report cockroach infestations—figures that underscore the challenges of urban living in these New Jersey cities. Litter is another sore point, with only 81.8% of homes free from trash or junk within a half-block radius, and air quality is subpar, with just 165 days in 2024 registering as “good” on the Air Quality Index.
“This ranking isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about health and quality of life,” the Oxi Fresh report notes, pointing to longstanding waste disposal issues in the tri-state area.
Despite recent municipal efforts, such as New York City’s rat mitigation programs, the metro area continues to struggle with these entrenched problems.
Trailing closely behind in dirtiness are other major metros like Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim (score: 353.9, grade: D+) and Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington (score: 365.2, grade: D+), which also face industrial pollution and high density. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands rounded out the bottom four with a score of 379.1 and a C- grade, largely due to factory emissions and lax environmental regulations.On the brighter side, Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro in Oregon topped the cleanest list with an A+ grade and a score of 596.8, benefiting from lower population density and better air quality metrics.
Oxi Fresh’s methodology drew from reliable sources including the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Data on pests and litter came primarily from 2023 surveys, while air quality was based on 2024 EPA records and water quality on analyses from 2021-2023. The study aims to raise awareness about urban hygiene, encouraging residents and policymakers in areas like Newark and Jersey City to prioritize improvements in waste infrastructure and pollution control.
Local officials in New Jersey have yet to respond to the study’s findings, but community advocates argue it’s a call to action.
As one Newark resident said, “We’ve known about the rats and trash for years—now maybe we’ll get the funding to fix it.”
For the full report and detailed rankings, visit Oxi Fresh’s website.
