Baltimoreans aren't as green as San Franciscans or Washingtonians when it comes to buying cars, but we seem to be at least as environmentally (or cost-) conscious as Los Angelenos.

That's the upshot of a new report by a marketing arm of the Nielsen public-opinion outfit.

San Francisco leads the nation in buying green, Nielsen reports, with households there 60 percent more likely than Americans as a whole to purchase hybrids or high-mileage cars, such as the Toyota Prius, Honda Fit or Mini Cooper. Second and third places go to the Washington and New York City areas, which are 44 percent and 31 percent more likely to buy fuel-sippers.

Baltimore comes in tied for 9th with Los Angeles, 22 percent more inclined toward greener new vehicles than the national average. All but one of the top 10 green-car cities are on the coasts, Chicago being the exception.

The biggest gas guzzlers tend to be found in the South and Midwest, according to Nielsen, with households in Greenwood-Greenville, Miss. only about half as likely as the national average to buy one of the most fuel-efficient vehicles.

Detroit, interestingly enough, didn't make either the bottom or top 10.

To see the entire list, go here.

With gas prices going up again - and pols in Washington debating climate change - are you more or less likely to buy a hybrid or high-mileage car the next time you go windshield shopping?

(2008 Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Fox)