People living in neighborhoods with the most vegetation cover saved an estimated $374 annually in healthcare costs and had fewer ER visits and hospitalizations as compared to people in neighborhoods with the least vegetation cover, even when adjusting for individual neighborhood characteristics, based on a study of over 5 million people in Northern California.
Van Den Eeden, Stephen K., Matthew H.E.M. Browning, Douglas A. Becker, Jun Shan, Stacey E. Alexeeff, G. Thomas Ray, Charles P. Quesenberry, and Ming Kuo. “Association Between Residential Green Cover and Direct Healthcare Costs in Northern California: An Individual Level Analysis of 5 Million Persons.” Environment International 163 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2022.107174
