So, what is the GREENEST state in the U.S.A.?

This is pretty hard to gauge of course, but let's say we will use LEED buildings as a metric. If you look at the LEED buildings by state map we recently published, it's clear that California takes the cake in all categories, with thousands more LEED certified buildings than any other state. However, looking at the map, it was notable that the top 4 states were identical to the top 4 states in automobile emissions, as well as urban sprawl, among a number of other factors. 

Furthermore, when sorting the data from Certified to Platinum, some interesting trends appear. Most notably, California definitely loses its enormous advantage. So, maybe it's not entirely fair to gauge based on the number of LEED buildings, as big states with many buildings will clearly win, despite the negative environmental impact that inevitably is associated with large populations.

So, I asked myself, "what if each state was adjusted to have 10M people?"

In other words, what does it look like if we determined the data as "LEED buildings per 10M people"?

The Numbers are surprising, with the number 1 ranked building in Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum being:

• Maryland, Most LEED certified buildings (adjusted by population)
• Washington, Most LEED Silver
• Oregon, Most LEED Gold
• Oregon, Most LEED Platinum

LEED Certified buildings per 10M people

Updated: 08/11/2011

Sort the table below by clicking on a column or type a state's name!