For the second year in a row, Illinois boasts the most LEED-certified space per resident, according to the USGBC’s annual Top 10 States for LEED list. In its fifth year, the ranking uses U.S. Census data measured against all commercial and institutional building projects that were certified through 2014. Coming in at 3.31 square feet per resident, Illinois leads the list with Colorado, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, Hawaii, California, Georgia, Minnesota, Arizona, and New York all making the top ten list, with Arizona and New York tied for tenth at 1.74 square feet per person.
The USGBC also notes that while Washington, D.C. cannot be included on the list as it is a federal territory rather than a state, the capitol is leading the nation by a wide margin. Its 29.44 square feet of LEED-certified space per capita is 88% higher than Illinois, thanks in part to several building codes and mandates that encourage certification
The 2014 list measured over 250 million certified square feet of space and over 1,660 certified projects . Additionally, the two newcomers to the list, Georgia and Arizona, show that LEED certification in the south and southwest U.S. is growing, though the mid-Atlantic region still has the most certified space in the country.
