With Earth Day right around the corner, RealtyTrac reported on where the most earth-friendly counties resided by analyzing various datasets including percent of good air quality days, the percent of people who walk to work, and then the best counties based on affordability.
It’s no surprise that good air quality is a great way to gage how friendly a county is being to the environment. Topping the list is Monterey, California with 99.2 percent of good air quality days and then Shasta, California (99.2 percent) nipping at the heels while Kent, Rhode Island (99.1 percent), Cass, North Dakota (99 percent) and Saint Lawrence, New York (99 percent) are close.
| State | County | Population | % of Good Air Quality Days |
| California | Monterey | 428,826 | 99.2% |
| California | Shasta | 178,980 | 99.2% |
| Rhode Island | Kent | 165,035 | 99.1% |
| North Dakota | Cass | 162,829 | 99.0% |
| New York | Saint Lawrence | 111,963 | 99.0% |
*Only looked at those counties with a population greater than 100,000
In keeping with air quality, RealtyTrac gathered data on the percent of people who walk to work. It’s no surprise that New York, New York far exceeds the national average with 20 percent of people walking to work, while Suffolk, Massachusetts (13.8 percent), Tompkins, New York (13.6 percent) our Nation’s capital Washington D.C. (11.9 percent) and Hampshire Massachusetts (10.6 percent) trail behind.
| State | County | Population | % of People who Walk |
| New York | New York | 1,626,159 | 20.0 |
| Massachusetts | Suffolk | 755,503 | 13.8 |
| New York | Tompkins | 103,617 | 13.6 |
| District of Columbia | District Of Columbia | 646,449 | 11.9 |
| Massachusetts | Hampshire | 159,596 | 10.6 |
*Only looked at those counties with a population greater than 100,000
After reviewing the above earth friendly factors, RealtyTrac then narrowed down the list factoring in affordability, where walking to work was greater than 3 percent, and the air quality was the greatest to come up with a top 10 list of most earth friendly counties:
| State | County | Population | % of People who Walk | % of Good Air Quality Days | 2015 Pct of Median Income to Buy Median Priced Home (10% Down) |
| New York | Oswego | 121,165 | 5.1 | 96.4% | 11% |
| New York | Saint Lawrence | 111,963 | 5.3 | 99.0% | 11% |
| New York | Niagara | 214,249 | 3.2 | 91.5% | 12% |
| New York | Broome | 197,534 | 4.5 | 95.6% | 13% |
| New York | Oneida | 233,585 | 4.3 | 96.2% | 13% |
| Pennsylvania | Beaver | 170,115 | 3.4 | 93.6% | 13% |
| Georgia | Richmond | 202,003 | 3.1 | 95.3% | 14% |
| Pennsylvania | Erie | 280,294 | 3.3 | 92.6% | 14% |
| Michigan | Ingham | 282,234 | 5.9 | 91.7% | 14% |
| Maryland | Baltimore City | 622,104 | 6.8 | 93.4% | 14% |
*Only looked at those counties with a population greater than 100,000
For more information, visit www.realtytrac.com.
