Illinois was ranked the top state for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), a green building certification developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The state, which moved up from third place in 2020, certified 3.16 square feet of building space per person under LEED in 2021.

In 2021, the top 10 states, plus the District of Columbia, certified 1,105 projects and more than 247 million gross square feet under LEED. Although Washington, D.C. does not appear in the official top 10 list because it is not a state, it consistently leads the nation in LEED-certified square footage per capita. In 2021, the nation’s capital certified 29.46 square feet of space per resident across 103 green building projects.

The top 10 LEED states include:

• Illinois, 3.16 certified gross square footage per capital and 87 green building projects
• Washington, 2.84 certified gross square footage and 92 projects
• Massachusetts, 2.64 certified gross square footage and 88 projects
• Colorado, 2.34 certified gross square footage and 78 projects
• Virginia, 2.149 certified gross square footage and 94 projects
• California, 2.143 certified gross square footage and 431 projects
• Maryland, 1.95 certified gross square footage and 76 projects
• Oregon, 1.81 certified gross square footage and 26 projects
• Utah, 1.48 certified gross square footage and 21 projects
• Nevada, 1.42 certified gross square footage and 9 projects.

“Amidst the challenges of 2021, governments, companies and other organizations committed to taking bold actions to protect the climate, their employees and their communities,” said Peter Templeton, USGBC president and CEO. “Transitioning our buildings to be healthier and more sustainable is essential to meeting these commitments, and we’re proud to recognize states where that work is well under way.”