San Jose was ranked the sixth greenest city in the US in 2023, and second in the state of California, by the personal finance outlet WalletHub, in its report “America’s Greenest Cities (2023).”
Compared to 99 other cities across the country, San José scored highly in the categories of Environment, Transportation, Energy Sources, and Lifestyle and Politics.
“In an increasingly urbanized world, cities must play a leading role in achieving our climate goals,” said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. “San Jose will continue to lead the effort to electrify all sectors of the economy and ensure it runs on clean, renewable energy sources.”
Kerrie Romanow, director of San Jose’s Department of Environmental Services and Sustainability, highlighted the environmental commitment of city residents, as well as the San Jose City Council, city departments, philanthropic and nonprofit organizations, and businesses that have helped shape her Climate Smart San José climate action plan.
“I appreciate this award because it recognizes the community of San José that understands the urgency of climate change and takes immediate action to combat it, creating a livable community,” he said.
Among 100 cities ranked nationwide, San José ranked number one in the Energy Sources category.
WalletHub considered in its metrics for this category the proportion of electricity from renewable sources, solar photovoltaic (PV) installations per capita, and the number of smart energy policies and initiatives.
According to the report, “To determine which cities promote an environmentally friendly lifestyle, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 28 key ‘green’ indicators… the data set ranges from greenhouse gas emissions per capita to the number of smart energy policies and initiatives to green job opportunities.”
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