This Pennsylvania city is one of the ‘dirtiest in America,’ report finds

A city’s cleanliness is one of the key components of both residents’ quality-of-life and health, as evidenced by the recent strike in Philadelphia that left trash piling on the streets.

Unfortunately for residents in this other Pennsylvania location, their city is one of the top five dirtiest in the entire United States.

LawnStarter conducted and published a recent study titled “ 2025’s Dirtiest Cities in America.” And there — ranked as the fourth overall dirtiest out of 300 cities total — sits Reading.

Not that Reading was the only city in the Keystone State to be included: Erie came in at 48th overall; Pittsburgh, 86th; Philadelphia in 101st; Allentown in 195th; and, finally, Scranton in 206th.

As for how these places were determined to be amongst the nation’s dirtiest, LawnStarter researchers took a look at the country’s largest cities across four main categories: “Pollution;” “Inadequate Living Conditions;” “Inadequate Waste Infrastructure;” and “Resident Dissatisfaction.” Relevant sub-metrics such as “Median Air Quality” as well as “Share of Overcrowded Homes” were also taken into account.

San Bernardino, California, was thus deemed the number one dirtiest city in America. Los Angeles, California; Detroit, Michigan; and Ontario, California (yes, California), came in second, third, and fifth, respectively, just to round out the top five.

“As individuals, we need to take responsibility for our cities,” says Dr. Edgar Stach, institute director and professor of architecture at Thomas Jefferson University. “It’s not only the city’s responsibility. We must collectively change the world.

“We need to embrace cleanliness on many levels, from the way we move to our daily habits. It’s not just littering or trash on the streets. While that may be the most visible effect, there are more severe effects tied to global warming, and that affects all living organisms on our planet.”