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

Prowers County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 31 counties in 2020, at 238. Fremont County had the lowest, at 27. The median was 133. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest238Prowers County

Lowest27Fremont County

Median13331 counties

Map of counties, 2020

Under 73
73 to 110
110 to 130
130 to 150
150 to 160
160 and over
No data

index, 2020. 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, 2020

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2020 index	Change on 2019
1	Prowers County	238	+162
2	Boulder County	181	+62
3	Jefferson County	161	+32
3	Park County	161	+60
5	Arapahoe County	159	+19
5	Douglas County	159	+5
5	Larimer County	159	+30
8	Clear Creek County	156	+30
9	Adams County	151	+19
9	El Paso County	151	+51
11	Denver County	150	-3
11	Garfield County	150	+45
13	Weld County	140	+11
14	Gilpin County	136	+21
14	San Miguel County	136	+49
16	La Plata County	133	+46
17	Montezuma County	126	+29
18	Gunnison County	115	+14
18	Rio Blanco County	115	+15
20	Grand County	112	+32
21	Mesa County	108	+7
22	Chaffee County	101	-7
23	Delta County	97	+17
24	Archuleta County	93	-31
25	Jackson County	85	+51
26	San Juan County	73	+41
27	Pitkin County	72	+26
28	Routt County	68	-69
29	Pueblo County	67	-1
30	Alamosa County	65	+37
31	Fremont County	27	-2

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. 9 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2020 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 Colorado by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2020) [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 Colorado by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2020. 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/colorado-counties?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Colorado by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2020. 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/colorado-counties?period=2020.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Colorado by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/colorado-counties?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_colorado_by_2020,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Colorado by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2020}},
  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/colorado-counties?period=2020. 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 Colorado by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2020
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/colorado-counties?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/colorado-counties?period=2020.
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 Colorado by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.

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

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

Prowers County, with 238 in 2020, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Fremont County, with 27 in 2020.

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. 9 counties have no value for 2020 and are not ranked.