Illinois was the leader in LEED certifications last year, with 172 certified building projects representing 5.31 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. Massachusetts followed very closely in second place, with 5.3 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident across 122 projects.
Washington, New York and Texas were ranked third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Colorado moved up from the bottom of the top 10 to sixth place, followed by Hawaii, Virginia, California and Maryland.
The top 10 states for LEED are home to 128 million Americans and together include more than 468 million gross square feet of LEED-certified space. Additionally, nine of the top 10 states are home to LEED-certified cities and communities, including Chicago, Seattle, Austin, Texas, and San Diego County.
Washington, D.C., is excluded from the ranking, but boasted an impressive 61.74 square feet of LEED-certified space per resident in 2018 across 145 green building projects.
