A recent American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy report finds that Boston remains the top U.S. city for energy efficiency, receiving 84.5 out of a possible 100 points, an improvement of 2.5 from its 2015 score.

Following Boston, the top 10 U.S. cities for energy efficiency are New York City (No. 2), Seattle (No. 3), Los Angeles and Portland (tied for No. 4), Austin (No. 6), Chicago (No. 7), Washington, D.C. (No. 8), Denver and San Francisco (tied for No. 9).  

The five cities most in need of improvement on energy efficiency are Hartford (No. 47), Memphis (No. 48), Detroit (No. 49), Oklahoma City (No. 50) and Birmingham (No. 51).

“Across the nation, cities are taking steps to save energy, and they are creating more economically vibrant and resilient communities in the process,” David Ribeiro, ACEEE senior researcher and lead report author, said in a statement. “More than half, 32, of the 51 cities improved their scores from 2015 to 2017, with several making substantial point increases. More cities are requiring building owners to benchmark and report buildings’ energy use, updating building energy codes, and setting community-wide goals to save energy and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We also see a new set of cities emerging as leaders for energy efficiency, knocking on the door of the top 10.”