(WETM) — A study conducted by Wallet Hub named New York the second greenest state in the country.
Vermont came in first place with New York coming in at a close second. West Virginia was named the least green state, and Pennsylvania was right in the middle with a rank of 24. The study looked at each state’s environmental quality, eco-friendly behaviors, and climate change contributions.
Under these three main categories, the study considered 25 different factors, including every state’s air quality, soil quality, water quality, daily water consumption, energy consumption, carbon-dioxide emissions, and recycling programs. All of these factors were assigned a quantitative value to create a point system. Out of a possible 100 points, Vermont received 78.77 and New York received 77.72. Pennsylvania got 59.11 points and West Virginia only got 19.3.
New York did rank first in one category the study showed individual rankings for. According to Wallet Hub, New York uses the least amount of gasoline per capita compared to the rest of the country. New York also consumes less energy than most of the U.S. and ranked third in this category.
The only other high ranking New York had was soil quality. The state has the fifth best soil quality, and the four states ahead of New York tie for first place. New York didn’t have any other notable rankings in this study.