San Francisco loves its green cars more than any other area in the U.S., according to new research from Nielsen. The new data from Nielsen Claritas' PRIZM Market Potential Report finds that households in San Francisco are 60 percent more likely to buy a green vehicle than the average U.S. home, with Washington D.C. 44 percent more likely and New York City 31 percent more likely.

"These estimates help manufacturers and marketers better understand the markets that have 'green' potential, and help them focus their resources," said Bruce Wilkinson, Vice President of Media and Communications for Nielsen Claritas. "Additionally, it helps them to plan media campaigns and determine inventory levels for each model, market-by-market."

The research looked at the national ownership rates of high-mileage vehicles including the Honda Fit, Toyota Prius, Toyota Yaris and Mini Cooper. Using auto registration data from RL Polk and Nielsen’s PRIZM segmentation, the percentage of each segment owning these vehicles was calculated. Individual market potential then was calculated based upon the segment composition of each market.

The top ten was made up primarily of coastal metropolitan area, including Boston (4th), San Diego (5th), Chicago (6th) and Los Angeles (9th), all with populations of over one million. Two exceptions were the relatively small areas of Monterey-Salinas, CA (7th), which has a population of 234,000 and Honolulu, HI (8th), with a population of 442,000.

Places where gas guzzlers still rule the road tended toward the south and Midwest, with the states of West Virginia and Mississippi holding seven of the ten areas that had the lowest rates of green auto ownership.

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