Dallas ranks among the top 10 dirtiest cities in the United States, according to an analysis conducted by the Austin-based insurance comparison website The Zebra.
The study ranked Dallas the seventh dirtiest city in the nation — tied with Philadelphia and San Diego. Another Texas city also made the top 10. Houston managed to edge ahead of Dallas, earning the No.6 spot in the country for uncleanliness.
New Orleans was ranked the dirtiest city in the United States, with the rest of the top 10 comprising Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Riverside (California), San Diego, and Detroit.
The study considered several factors in devising its rankings, including carbon dioxide emissions, water quality, and the number of high ozone days.
According to a 2021 analysis cited by the survey, Dallas was among the top 20 cities in the United States with the dirtiest water.
Among cities with a population of at least 500,000, Dallas was ranked No.16 for its dirty water, beaten out by Columbus, Boston, Seattle, Charlotte, Nashville, Louisville, New York, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Denver, Baltimore, Oklahoma City, and Sacramento. Two other Texas cities also made the top 20 for dirty water: Austin and San Antonio.
Dallas’ cleanliness has become a growing concern, with a recent satisfaction survey conducted by the City of Dallas suggesting residents think the municipality is failing to keep its streets clean.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the survey found that only 25% of Dallas residents believe the City government does a “good” or “excellent” job at street cleaning. In comparison, 44% went as far as to say the City does a “poor” job.
The published survey included a section on comments from residents in which several lambasted the City for failing to keep Dallas clean.
“Downtown is filthy,” one resident wrote. “Clean up the city!”
Another respondent said Dallas is “really starting to look dirty and unkempt.”
Such sentiments align with the larger trend of declining support for the City of Dallas, as indicated by a poll that showed a plurality of respondents register their disapproval “with the overall direction that the City of Dallas is taking.”
According to survey respondents, the “biggest problems” in the city are homelessness and crime — two issues that exacerbate the lack of cleanliness throughout the city, especially in Downtown Dallas, where a significant police shortage of roughly 900 officers can be felt.
Polling conducted by The Dallas Express appears to back up the poor impression, with a recent survey finding that parents, in particular, view homelessness, vagrancy, and panhandling as “serious problems in Dallas.”