The Most (and Least) Polluted American Cities

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The State of the Air 2010 (175 page pdf, American Lung Association, April 28, 2010)

Key Quotes:

“over 175 million people—roughly 58 percent—still suffer pollution levels that are too often dangerous to breathe“

“Twenty of the 25 metropolitan areas with the worst year-round pollution reported much lower levels of particle pol­lution in State of the Air 2010 compared to the 2009 report. Sixteen metropolitan areas reported their lowest levels ever “

“Nearly six of ten people (58%) in the United States lives in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution“



“Roughly one in 13 people—some 23.8 million in the United States—live in 18 counties with unhealthful levels of all three: ozone and short-term and year-round particle pollution“



Five most polluted cities (by ozone):

#1: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA

#2: Bakersfield, CA

#3: Visalia-Porterville, CA

#4: Fresno-Madera, CA

#5: Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, CA-NV

Five cleanest cities (short term particulates)

#1. Alexandria, LA

#2. Amarillo, TX

#3. Athens-Clarke County, GA

#4. Austin-Round Rock, TX

#5. Bangor, ME

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