200 Most Sustainable Cities in America - Where Does Murfreesboro Rank?

Murfreesboro, TN - Out of 200 large sized cities across the nation, Murfreesboro ranked at number 185 on the 2023 "Most Sustainable Cities" report. The overall number 1 ranking for the Most Sustainable City in the U.S. went to San Francisco, California. Fog City, home to the famous Golden Gate Bridge, had an overall score of 77.2. Their sustainable development ranking came in at number 1 and their transportation ranking was at number 2 on the list. LawnStarter reports, “In 2007, San Francisco became the first American city to ban plastic bags, and has since banned the sale of plastic bottles on city-owned properties.”

Specifically in the Volunteer State, the LawnStarter Survey showed that Murfreesboro ranked at the bottom of the list for sustainability. Meanwhile in East Tennessee, Knoxville ranked as the Most Sustainable City in the Volunteer State. Nashville was second on the list, followed by Chattanooga, Memphis, Clarksville and then Murfreesboro at number 6.

But, what placed Murfreesboro at the bottom? Evidently, Murfreesboro had the highest pollution ranking, while Chattanooga scored the lowest. When ranking pollution, the survey looked at water quality, air quality and even weighed in on the tons of waste in landfills per every 100-thousand residents. As many realize, Murfreesboro is home to the Middle Point Landfill, which has accepted trash from multiple counties for years. In other words, it was somewhat of an unfair upset for the 'Boro in the pollution category.

Murfreesboro received a ranking of 196 in transportation, while Knoxville had the lowest at 135. In looking to the “Sustainable Development Rank,” Nashville was tops on the list, followed by Knoxville at number 2, Chattanooga at number 3, Murfreesboro at number 4, Clarksville at 5 and Memphis at the bottom of the list. See the entire survey results HERE.

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