Earth Day Network
 Urban Environment Report: How Does Your City Rank?
 
EDN Vulnerable Population Index (EDN VPI) Rank
 
All cities have vulnerable populations. However, in some U.S. cities the concentration of citizens at risk is of particular concern. Earth Day Network’s Vulnerable Population Index (EDN VPI) is a measure suggesting what portion of a city's population may have greater sensitivity or susceptibility to environmental change. The list below shows the EDN VPI calculated and its rank, from best to worst.
 
Rank
(1 is best,
72 is worst)		 City, State % of Population Index
(1 is best,
2 is worst)
1 Fargo*, ND 10.6 1.11
2 Boise*, ID 11.0 1.12
3 Sioux Falls*, SD 11.5 1.13
4 Virginia Beach, VA 11.6 1.13
5 Anchorage, AK 11.8 1.14
6 Billings*, MT 12.3 1.15
7 Mesa, AZ 12.7 1.16
7 Colorado Springs, CO 12.7 1.16
9 Burlington*, VT 13.3 1.18
10 Seattle, WA 13.5 1.18
11 Cheyenne*, WY 13.6 1.18
12 Lexington, KY 13.8 1.19
13 Portland*, ME 14.3 1.21
14 Manchester*, NH 14.4 1.21
14 Portland, OR 14.4 1.21
16 Des Moines*, IA 14.5 1.21
16 Omaha, NE 14.5 1.21
18 Charlotte, NC 14.8 1.22
19 Minneapolis, MN 14.9 1.22
20 Wichita, KS 15.0 1.23
20 Salt Lake City*, UT 15.0 1.22
22 Jacksonville, FL 15.2 1.23
22 Honolulu, HI 15.2 1.23
22 Arlington, TX 15.2 1.23
25 Las Vegas, NV 15.4 1.24
26 Phoenix, AZ 15.5 1.24
26 Albuquerque, NM 15.5 1.24
26 Nashville-Davidson, TN 15.6 1.24
29 Little Rock*, AR 15.8 1.25
29 Tucson, AZ 15.8 1.25
31 Columbus, OH 15.9 1.25
32 Austin, TX 16.1 1.26
33 Tulsa, OK 16.3 1.27
34 San Diego, CA 16.4 1.27
35 Charleston*, WV 16.7 1.28
36 Denver, CO 16.8 1.28
37 Kansas City, MO 16.9 1.29
38 Oklahoma City, OK 17.4 1.30
39 Columbia*, SC 17.5 1.31
40 Indianapolis, IN 17.6 1.31
41 San Francisco, CA 17.7 1.31
42 Boston, MA 17.8 1.32
43 Memphis, TN 17.9 1.32
44 Washington, DC 18.0 1.32
45 Wilmington*, DE 18.7 1.35
45 Sacramento, CA 18.7 1.35
47 Louisville-Jefferson County*, KY 18.9 1.36
48 Philadelphia, PA 19.1 1.36
48 Fort Worth, TX 19.1 1.37
50 Chicago, IL 19.2 1.37
51 San Jose, CA 19.3 1.37
52 Milwaukee, WI 19.4 1.37
53 Birmingham*, AL 19.8 1.39
53 San Antonio, TX 19.8 1.39
55 Atlanta, GA 19.9 1.39
56 Bridgeport*, CT 20.3 1.41
57 Baltimore City, MD 20.4 1.41
57 Long Beach, CA 20.4 1.42
59 Fresno, CA 20.5 1.42
60 Jackson*, MS 20.6 1.42
61 Oakland, CA 21.0 1.44
62 New York City, NY 21.1 1.44
63 Dallas, TX 21.3 1.45
64 Providence*, RI 21.5 1.46
64 Houston, TX 21.5 1.46
66 New Orleans, LA 21.6 1.47
67 Los Angeles, CA 22.5 1.50
67 Cleveland, OH 22.5 1.51
69 El Paso, TX 24.1 1.58
70 Detroit, MI 24.4 1.60
71 Newark, NJ 24.6 1.60
72 Miami, FL 27.5 1.75

Note:

• All rank information is out of 72 cities, though not all cities may have scores/data in every category.
   1 is the 'best' (least polluting, most educated, etc) and 72 is the 'worst'.

• Use of the asterisk (*) after the city name indicates year 2000 data was used in instances where
   2005 or 2004 Census data was not available.