See Why Experts Rank This Missouri City as the State’s Filthiest

Missouri has the nickname the “show me state,” and there’s certainly much to see here. Plenty happens in this midwestern state, from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to the breathtaking Ozark Mountains. Other things the state is famous for include Branson, a happening music destination, and multiple major league sports teams. Even if you’re not a football fan, you’ve likely heard much about the Kansas City Chiefs these days. However, Missouri also has some dirty little secrets. A few of its cities rank as some of the filthiest in America. Find out why this Missouri city is the State’s filthiest, according to the 2023 Dirtiest Cities in America study.

What Is the Filthiest City in Missouri?

According to Lawnstarter, Kansas City ranks as the dirtiest city in Missouri. Here’s more about how that was determined.

The study compared over 150 of the biggest cities in America to find out which are the dirtiest. Publicly available data was used to analyze air quality, pest infestations, the amount of waste in nearby landfills, and the percentage of dissatisfied residents in various cities. These results were used to rank pollution, living conditions, infrastructure, and consumer satisfaction, or how happy residents are, in each city.

Kansas City may be the dirtiest city in Missouri, but it’s not the most filthy in the country. That honor goes to Houston, TX. Kansas City ranks in 44th place.

Pollution in Kansas City

To determine pollution levels in Kansas City, researchers considered the following metrics: median air quality index, which had the highest weight in scoring, water quality violations, greenhouse gas emissions per capita, annual excess fuel consumption, and percentage of smokers in the city. 

Kansas city ranks 37th out of all 154 cities for worst pollution levels. Gound-level ozone and particulate matter in the area contribute to Kansas City’s levels of air pollution. There is even an established ozone season for the city, from March to October.

Living Conditions in Kansas City

Kansas City ranks 37th for the worst living conditions. This number is based on population density, overcrowding rates, homelessness, sewage disposal breakdowns, mold in homes, and how many homes lack kitchen and plumbing facilities. The highest weighting for the category is problems with pest infestations. 

However, Kansas City comes in first place for something good. The city ranks first among all cities for the lowest share of homes with signs of mice or rats in the last 12 months. This is an interesting contradiction, for sure. 

Infrastructure in Kansas City

To determine cities where the infrastructure leads to dirty conditions, researchers looked at the tons of waste in landfills per resident, which was the highest weighting in the category. Additionally, they analyzed state waste regulations, the number of refuse and recycling collectors, the amount of alternative-fuel stations, and the number of junkyards. 

Kansas City came in 69th place, which shows it’s one of the lesser problems for the city.

Consumer Satisfaction in Kansas City

This category in the survey studies what residents think of where they live. It looked at how many people find the city dirty and untidy, what number isn’t happy about pollution, and the categories with the highest weighting. Also considered was garbage disposal and how many residents think the green spaces could use improvement. Kansas City ranked 77th place. It was also the lowest-ranked category for the city, showing residents are relatively happy with their city as compared to other categories. 

Rankings of Other Missouri Cities

Three cities in Missouri ranked in the study. Along with Kansas City, Springfield ranks just behind in 46th place, and St. Louis ranks 92nd. Springfield has a slightly higher pollution ranking at 24th than Kansas City, which ranks 37th in that category. And if you’re interested to know which city ranked the lowest in the entire study, that’s Virginia Beach, VA, in 152nd place.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Wallace Weeks/Shutterstock.com