Burkholderia cepacia has been recognized as an opportunistic human pathogen that causes disease especially among cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. This is important because of the patient-to-patient spread of the organism and its resistance to several anti-microbial agents which limits many therapeutic options. Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) strains are of great interest in agriculture and biotechnology because of their potential as bio-control agents for root disease, N2-fixing ability, rhizosphere colonizing, and plant-growth promoting agent of several economic crops which subsequently increases crop yield. Also, Bcc strains can degrade hydrocarbons and co-oxidize TCE and thus aid with the bioremediation of contaminated soil and water. Therefore, the relationship between clinical and environmental strains was explored using a variety of aromatic compounds, such as catechol, p-coumeric acid, ferulic acid, phenol, toluene, etc. Each of the strains isolated from clinical patients and from the rhizospheres of corn from a tall grass Iowa prairie were grown on Plate Count Agar (PCA) and inoculated with Basal Salt Medium (BSM). Analysis was done by visible turbidity except for toluene where optical density was measured. Data on substrates for each set of strains was clustered via molecular statistical programs Systat 8.0 and MEGA. The results revealed that the environmental strains did grow on more aromatic substrates than the clinical isolates. Within the environmental strains, the corn isolates grew on more substrates than the prairie isolates. The results also indicated the relative growth or non-growth on the variety of aromatics has a profound effect on how the strains are clustered together. In essence, the degradative properties of the strains from two sources were found to be quite different. While the strains can be separated, more work is needed to know whether one could safely distinguish a potential pathogen from a harmless strain by growth on aromatic substrates.