In addition to the 25 worst cities for each pollutant listed previously, the 25 most polluted counties for ozone and particle pollution are ranked in the tables below:
Ozone
Rank
State
County
1
California
San Bernardino
2
California
Riverside
3
California
Los Angeles
4
California
Kern
5
California
Tulare
6
California
Fresno
7
Arizona
Maricopa
8
California
San Diego
9
Colorado
Jefferson
10
Texas
Harris
11
California
El Dorado
11
California
Kings
13
Utah
Salt Lake City
14
Nevada
Clark
15
California
Mariposa
16
California
Orange
17
California
Madera
18
New Mexico
Doña Ana
19
California
Stanislaus
20
Connecticut
Fairfield
21
California
Imperial
22
New Mexico
Eddy
23
Colorado
Douglas
24
Arizona
Pinal
25
Illinois
Cook
25
California
Merced
25
Texas
Tarrant
Short-term Particle Pollution
Rank
State
County
1
California
Fresno
2
California
Mono
3
California
Kern
4
California
Kings
5
Alaska
Fairbanks North Star
6
California
Inyo
7
California
Siskiyou
8
Oregon
Klamath
9
California
Stanislaus
10
California
San Joaquin
11
California
Tehama
12
California
Madera
13
California
Colusa
14
California
Butte
15
California
Sacramento
16
California
Los Angeles
17
California
Merced
18
California
Mendocino
19
California
Placer
20
California
Nevada
21
California
Plumas
21
California
Sutter
23
Washington
Okanogan
24
California
Calaveras
25
California
Alameda
25
California
Contra Costa
Year-round Particle Pollution
Rank
State
County
1
California
Mono
2
California
Kern
3
California
Kings
3
California
Tulare
5
Oregon
Klamath
6
California
Plumas
7
California
Fresno
8
California
Stanislaus
9
California
San Bernardino
10
Oregon
Jackson
11
California
Riverside
11
California
San Joaquin
13
California
Madera
14
Montana
Lincoln
15
California
Merced
16
Alaska
Fairbanks North Star
16
California
Los Angeles
18
Arizona
Pinal
19
California
Butte
19
Oregon
Josephine
21
California
Imperial
22
Washington
Okanogan
22
California
Sacramento
24
California
Sutter
25
Ohio
Hamilton
Fourteen counties received failing grades for all three measures of pollution: Butte, Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Merced, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare in California and Pinal in Arizona.
Did You Know?
More than four in ten Americans live where the air they breathe earned an F in “State of the Air” 2022.
More than 137 million people live in counties that received an F for either ozone or particle pollution in “State of the Air” 2022.
Close to 19.8 million people live in counties that got an F for all three air pollution measures in “State of the Air” 2022.
Breathing ozone irritates the lungs, resulting in inflammation—as if there were a bad sunburn within the lungs.
Breathing in particle pollution can increase the risk of lung cancer.
Particle pollution can cause early death and heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits.
Particles in air pollution can be smaller than 1/30th the diameter of a human hair. When you inhale them, they are small enough to get past the body's natural defenses.
Ozone and particle pollution are both linked to increased risk of lower birth weight in newborns.
If you live or work near a busy highway, traffic pollution may put you at greater risk of harm.
People who work or exercise outside face increased risk from the effects of air pollution.
Millions of people are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, including children, older adults and people with lung diseases such as asthma.
People of color and those earning lower incomes are disproportionately affected by air pollution that puts them at higher risk for illness.
Air pollution is a serious health threat. It can trigger asthma attacks, harm lung development in children, and even be deadly.
You can protect yourself by checking the air quality forecasts in your community and avoiding exercising or working outdoors when unhealthy air is expected.
Climate change enhances conditions for ozone pollution to form and makes it harder clean up communities where ozone levels are high.
Climate change increases the risk of wildfires that spread particle pollution in the smoke.
The Biden Administration has made bold commitments to improve air quality, especially in communities that have faced disproportionate levels of pollution. The Lung Association is advocating to make sure they are realized.
The nation has the Clean Air Act to thank for decades of improvements in air quality. This landmark law has driven pollution reduction for 50 years.
Cutting air pollution through the Clean Air Act was projected to prevent over 230,000 deaths and save nearly $2 trillion in 2020 alone.