Top 10 U.S. Cities With the Cleanest Drinking Water
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Clean drinking water is easy to take for granted—until water quality becomes a concern. Across the United States, drinking-water quality varies depending on the source, local geology, treatment systems, infrastructure, and contaminants being monitored.
There is no single official federal ranking of America's “cleanest” cities, so this list draws on recent water-quality rankings based on EPA contaminant data, compliance records, and infrastructure indicators. The rankings below are presented as a countdown, from No. 10 to the top-ranked city.
10. Greenwood, Indiana
Purity score: 97/100
Greenwood rounds out the list with a 97/100 water-quality score. Its ranking reflects favorable results across the contaminants and compliance measures used by recent national assessments.
9. Naperville, Illinois
Purity score: 97/100
Naperville stands out as one of the larger cities on the list. Its excellent ranking demonstrates that high-quality water isn't limited to small communities. The city operates a sophisticated municipal water system and regularly monitors its supply.
8. West Haven, Connecticut
Purity score: 97/100
West Haven is another northeastern community with excellent recent water-quality results. Connecticut's abundant water resources and extensive regulatory oversight contribute to strong drinking-water performance in many communities.
7. San Clemente, California
Purity score: 97/100
San Clemente combines a coastal location with excellent reported drinking-water results. Its municipal supply receives extensive monitoring and treatment, helping it achieve one of the country's stronger overall water-quality scores.
6. Palm Desert, California
Purity score: 97/100
Palm Desert's high ranking is notable given the challenges of providing water in the California desert. Modern treatment, monitoring, and carefully managed water supplies help produce consistently high-quality drinking water.
5. Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Purity score: 97/100
Pine Bluff ranks surprisingly high among American cities for drinking-water purity. Its score reflects favorable contaminant and compliance data, demonstrating that smaller Southern cities can have excellent municipal water systems.
4. Cumberland, Maryland
Purity score: 98/100
Cumberland earns a place near the top thanks to excellent reported water-quality results. Communities in this part of the country can benefit from abundant surface and groundwater resources, although local treatment remains critical to the finished drinking water.
3. Romeoville, Illinois
Purity score: 98/100
Romeoville is one of the highest-rated communities in the country in recent water-quality rankings. Its position reflects strong compliance and favorable results for monitored contaminants.
2. Anaheim, California
Purity score: 98/100
Anaheim is notable because it combines a large population with an exceptionally strong water-quality score. Its water system relies on a combination of imported and local supplies and extensive treatment and monitoring.
1. Payson, Arizona
Purity score: 98/100
Payson takes the No. 1 position in this ranking. Despite being located in the arid Southwest, the community benefits from high-quality local water sources and strong reported compliance results. Its position is a reminder that climate and geography alone don't determine the quality of finished drinking water.
What About the Famous “Best Water” Cities?
Some cities famous for great-tasting tap water don't necessarily appear on contaminant-based “cleanest water” lists. Seattle, for example, has a particularly strong reputation for its mountain-fed water supply and was highly ranked among large Western water utilities in J.D. Power's 2025 customer-satisfaction study.
Omaha, Fairfax, Cincinnati, and Irvine have also received strong evaluations in various water-utility comparisons. However, water purity and water-system satisfaction aren't necessarily the same thing. A contaminant-based ranking focuses on the quality of the water itself, while customer-satisfaction studies can also consider reliability, communication, cost, customer service, and other factors.
A Final Caveat
Water quality can change from one year to the next, and even from one neighborhood to another. A city's published water-quality report describes the municipal supply, but the pipes inside an individual building can also affect what comes out of the tap. Older plumbing, lead service lines, and building-specific plumbing are therefore important considerations.
For that reason, the best way to evaluate a particular city's water is to look at its latest annual water-quality report and the most recent testing data rather than relying solely on a national ranking.
The countdown at a glance:
10. Greenwood, IN
9. Naperville, IL
8. West Haven, CT
7. San Clemente, CA
6. Palm Desert, CA
5. Pine Bluff, AR
4. Cumberland, MD
3. Romeoville, IL
2. Anaheim, CA
1. Payson, AZ
