Counties in Minnesota by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI)

Carlton County had the highest share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI) of 21 counties in 2011, at 100%. Ramsey County had the lowest, at 48.8%. The median was 76%. Source: EPA.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest100Carlton County
Lowest48.8Ramsey County
Median7621 counties

Map of counties, 2011

Anoka County: 54.8 %Becker County: 82.4 %Carlton County: 100 %Cass County: 89.2 %Cook County: 76.5 %Crow Wing County: 76 %Dakota County: 56.4 %Goodhue County: 93 %Hennepin County: 53.7 %Lake County: 79.2 %Lyon County: 75 %Mille Lacs County: 96.6 %Olmsted County: 56.4 %Ramsey County: 48.8 %Rock County: 83 %St. Louis County: 73.4 %Scott County: 84.9 %Stearns County: 63.4 %Washington County: 93.8 %Winona County: 73.3 %Wright County: 49 %
  • Under 56
  • 56 to 73
  • 73 to 79
  • 79 to 89
  • 89 and over
  • No data
%, 2011. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: Invokely calculation with data from EPA. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2011

Carlton County: 100 %Carlton County100Mille Lacs County: 96.6 %Mille Lacs County96.6Washington County: 93.8 %Washington County93.8Goodhue County: 93 %Goodhue County93Cass County: 89.2 %Cass County89.2Scott County: 84.9 %Scott County84.9Rock County: 83 %Rock County83Becker County: 82.4 %Becker County82.4Lake County: 79.2 %Lake County79.2Cook County: 76.5 %Cook County76.5Crow Wing County: 76 %Crow Wing County76Lyon County: 75 %Lyon County75St. Louis County: 73.4 %St. Louis County73.4Winona County: 73.3 %Winona County73.3Stearns County: 63.4 %Stearns County63.4Dakota County: 56.4 %Dakota County56.4Olmsted County: 56.4 %Olmsted County56.4Anoka County: 54.8 %Anoka County54.8Hennepin County: 53.7 %Hennepin County53.7Wright County: 49 %Wright County49Ramsey County: 48.8 %Ramsey County48.8Carlton County: 100 %Carlton County100Mille Lacs County: 96.6 %Mille Lacs County96.6Washington County: 93.8 %Washington County93.8Goodhue County: 93 %Goodhue County93Cass County: 89.2 %Cass County89.2Scott County: 84.9 %Scott County84.9Rock County: 83 %Rock County83Becker County: 82.4 %Becker County82.4Lake County: 79.2 %Lake County79.2Cook County: 76.5 %Cook County76.5Crow Wing County: 76 %Crow Wing County76Lyon County: 75 %Lyon County75St. Louis County: 73.4 %St. Louis County73.4Winona County: 73.3 %Winona County73.3Stearns County: 63.4 %Stearns County63.4Dakota County: 56.4 %Dakota County56.4Olmsted County: 56.4 %Olmsted County56.4Anoka County: 54.8 %Anoka County54.8Hennepin County: 53.7 %Hennepin County53.7Wright County: 49 %Wright County49Ramsey County: 48.8 %Ramsey County48.8
%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from EPA. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2011 (%)Change on 2010
1Carlton County100+2.5 pts
2Mille Lacs County96.6+0.2 pts
3Washington County93.8+3.2 pts
4Goodhue County93+2.6 pts
5Cass County89.2-10.8 pts
6Scott County84.9+6.8 pts
7Rock County83+9.9 pts
8Becker County82.4+4.2 pts
9Lake County79.2-6.2 pts
10Cook County76.5-4.1 pts
11Crow Wing County76+0.2 pts
12Lyon County75+31.3 pts
13St. Louis County73.4+2.2 pts
14Winona County73.3-2.1 pts
15Stearns County63.4-4.6 pts
16Dakota County56.4+4.1 pts
16Olmsted County56.4+5.3 pts
18Anoka County54.8+10.7 pts
19Hennepin County53.7-4.4 pts
20Wright County49+0.6 pts
21Ramsey County48.8-1.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Days with a daily Air Quality Index of 0 to 50 (good) as a percentage of the days of the year with an AQI in a US county. Calculated by Invokely from the day counts in the EPA AirData annual summaries; both counts are stored with each value.

United States counties with air quality monitors only, about 1,000 of some 3,100 in recent years; a county without monitors has no value. The number of days with an AQI differs between counties because some monitors run only in the ozone season.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. 19 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2011 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2026). EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts (Counties in Minnesota by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2011) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual

MLA 9

EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts, Counties in Minnesota by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2011. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 July 2026, https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/minnesota-counties?period=2011. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. Counties in Minnesota by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2011. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/minnesota-counties?period=2011.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts, Counties in Minnesota by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2011 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/minnesota-counties?period=2011 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{environmental_counties_in_minnesota_by_2011,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts: Counties in Minnesota by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2011}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/minnesota-counties?period=2011. Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download\_files.html\#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
TI  - EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts: Counties in Minnesota by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2011
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/13
PB  - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/minnesota-counties?period=2011
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/minnesota-counties?period=2011.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  - 
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Questions

Which county has the highest share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI)?

Carlton County, with 100% in 2011, according to EPA.

Which county has the lowest share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI)?

Ramsey County, with 48.8% in 2011.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 19 counties have no value for 2011 and are not ranked.

Share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI): other rankings

Counties in Minnesota: more rankings