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

Jefferson County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 26 counties in 1996, at 217. Jackson County had the lowest, at 31. The median was 62. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest217Jefferson County

Lowest31Jackson County

Median6226 counties

Map of counties, 1996

Under 47
47 to 55
55 to 110
110 to 170
170 and over
No data

index, 1996. 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, 1996

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	1996 index	Change on 1995
1	Jefferson County	217	-5
2	Morgan County	200	+144
3	Shelby County	197	-8
4	DeKalb County	182	-8
5	Elmore County	174	+5
6	Mobile County	172	+22
7	Lawrence County	169	-21
7	Madison County	169	0
9	Clay County	161	-36
10	Montgomery County	140	0
11	Sumter County	108	-11
12	Geneva County	90	-39
13	Walker County	66	+8
14	Tuscaloosa County	57	0
15	Houston County	56	+4
16	Russell County	55	+1
17	Talladega County	53	-10
18	Etowah County	52	-7
19	Marengo County	51	+4
20	Pike County	48	-6
21	Limestone County	47	n/a
22	Escambia County	46	-9
22	Franklin County	46	-6
24	Colbert County	44	-89
25	Calhoun County	37	-20
26	Jackson County	31	-20

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. 5 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1996 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), 1996) [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), 1996. 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=1996. 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), 1996. 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=1996.

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), 1996 [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=1996 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_alabama_by_1996,
  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), 1996}},
  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=1996. 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), 1996
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=1996
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/alabama-counties?period=1996.
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)?

Jefferson County, with 217 in 1996, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Jackson County, with 31 in 1996.

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. 5 counties have no value for 1996 and are not ranked.