Counties in Alabama by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA)

Shelby County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 24 counties in 1992, at 197. Colbert County had the lowest, at 40. The median was 61. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest197Shelby County

Lowest40Colbert County

Median6124 counties

Map of counties, 1992

Under 44
44 to 55
55 to 73
73 to 150
150 and over
No data

index, 1992. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 1992

index. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	1992 index	Change on 1991
1	Shelby County	197	+36
2	Jefferson County	195	+29
3	Madison County	185	+31
4	DeKalb County	169	+18
5	Elmore County	159	+19
6	Mobile County	150	-35
7	Sumter County	140	+63
8	Lawrence County	118	n/a
9	Talladega County	76	+6
10	Clay County	74	+16
11	Pike County	70	+14
12	Etowah County	63	-8
13	Houston County	58	+1
14	Escambia County	55	+2
14	Montgomery County	55	-46
16	Russell County	51	-10
17	Jackson County	47	-18
18	Morgan County	46	-11
19	Franklin County	44	-11
19	Walker County	44	-22
21	Calhoun County	43	-21
21	Marengo County	43	-7
23	Tuscaloosa County	42	-37
24	Colbert County	40	-14

Other periods

About this ranking

Highest daily Air Quality Index (AQI) value recorded in a US county during the year, from the EPA AirData annual summaries. Values above 500 are beyond the AQI scale and are published as EPA computes them.

A single day decides the value, so one wildfire or dust event can set it. Dust from the dry Owens Lake bed puts Inyo and Mono counties in California in the thousands. 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. 7 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1992 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: highest daily AQI. 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: highest daily AQI (Counties in Alabama by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1992) [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: highest daily AQI, Counties in Alabama by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1992. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 July 2026, https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/alabama-counties?period=1992. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Alabama by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1992. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/alabama-counties?period=1992.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Alabama by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1992 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/alabama-counties?period=1992 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_alabama_by_1992,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Alabama by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1992}},
  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/highest-daily-air-quality-index/alabama-counties?period=1992. Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. 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: highest daily AQI: Counties in Alabama by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1992
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/highest-daily-air-quality-index/alabama-counties?period=1992
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/alabama-counties?period=1992.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

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Rank Counties in Alabama by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"aqi_max","level":"province","within":"Alabama","limit":10}
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Questions

Which county has the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA)?

Shelby County, with 197 in 1992, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Which county has the lowest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA)?

Colbert County, with 40 in 1992.

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: highest daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 7 counties have no value for 1992 and are not ranked.