Environment

SmileHub - With nearly two-thirds of Americans believing the quality of the environment in the U.S. is getting worse, the non-profit organization SmileHub today released new reports on the Best Charities for Environmental Protection and the Best States for Environmental Protection in 2026.

SmileHub compared the eco-friendliness of all 50 states across 25 key metrics. The data set ranges from the number of environmental charities per capita to the share of renewable energy consumption to energy efficiency score.

Best States	Worst States
1. California	41. Kansas
2. Washington	42. Alaska
3. New York	43. Iowa
4. Vermont	44. Kentucky
5. Hawaii	45. North Dakota
6. Maryland	46. Wyoming
7. Massachusetts	47. Alabama
8. New Jersey	48. Mississippi
9. Virginia	49. West Virginia
10. Oregon	50. Louisiana

Key Stats

• California has the highest number of environmental protection charities per capita – 9.9 times higher than Oklahoma, which has the lowest number.
• New York has the highest share of workers that use green transportation – 3 times higher than Mississippi, which has the lowest share.
• South Dakota has the highest share of renewable energy consumption – 27 times higher than Alaska, which has the lowest share.

To view the full report and your state’s rank