Budapest Crowned World’s Dirtiest City in New Ranking
Budapest, Hungary – A new analysis of traveler reviews has named Budapest as the dirtiest city in the world, according to a report released Monday by luggage storage service Radical Storage.The ranking, based on a dissection of 70,000 Google reviews of the 10 most popular tourist attractions in 100 cities from Euromonitor’s Top 100 City Destinations list, assessed the frequency of the words “clean” and ”dirty” in reviews over the past year.
The study found that over 37.9% of cleanliness-related reviews of Budapest mentioned dirt or poor maintenance. Radical Storage attributes the issue to a waste management system struggling to cope with a significant surge in tourism; Hungary’s tourism industry rose 8.3% in September, with Budapest itself experiencing a 12% jump compared to the same month in 2024.
Rome, Italy, followed closely behind in second place, with 35.7% of reviews citing cleanliness concerns.Tourists frequently discuss the city’s cleanliness issues on online forums, with one Reddit user commenting after multiple visits, ”From what I’ve seen, this city has always been dirty…Rome is a truly beautiful city, but its rubbish problem is truly repulsive.” Photos of overflowing garbage have become commonplace on social media, even attracting wild boars searching for food.
Rounding out the top three was Las Vegas,Nevada,where approximately 31% of reviews highlighted cleanliness issues. Radical Storage noted the challenges of maintaining cleanliness in a city operating 24/7, despite local initiatives like Pick It Up Las Vegas. TripAdvisor users have described the city as a “complete garbage dump.”
Florence and Paris, Italy, secured the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Milan and Verona, Italy, completed the list, ranking sixth and seventh as the dirtiest cities, bringing the total number of Italian cities in the top seven to four.
(upd/wsw)