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 1997, at 202. Jackson County had the lowest, at 16. The median was 58. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest202Jefferson County

Lowest16Jackson County

Median5826 counties

Map of counties, 1997

Under 47
47 to 52
52 to 84
84 to 150
150 and over
No data

index, 1997. 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, 1997

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	1997 index	Change on 1996
1	Jefferson County	202	-15
2	Shelby County	192	-5
3	DeKalb County	179	-3
4	Mobile County	164	-8
5	Madison County	156	-13
6	Clay County	150	-11
7	Lawrence County	136	-33
8	Geneva County	126	+36
9	Elmore County	115	-59
10	Montgomery County	112	-28
11	Sumter County	84	-24
12	Talladega County	58	+5
12	Tuscaloosa County	58	+1
14	Russell County	57	+2
15	Etowah County	55	+3
16	Houston County	52	-4
16	Marengo County	52	+1
18	Escambia County	51	+5
18	Morgan County	51	-149
20	Calhoun County	47	+10
20	Pike County	47	-1
22	Franklin County	45	-1
23	Walker County	43	-23
24	Colbert County	41	-3
25	Limestone County	37	-10
26	Jackson County	16	-15

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 1997 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), 1997) [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), 1997. 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=1997. 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), 1997. 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=1997.

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), 1997 [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=1997 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_alabama_by_1997,
  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), 1997}},
  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=1997. 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), 1997
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=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/alabama-counties?period=1997.
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 202 in 1997, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Jackson County, with 16 in 1997.

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 1997 and are not ranked.