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

La Plata County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 30 counties in 2024, at 240. San Juan County had the lowest, at 51. The median was 136. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest240La Plata County

Lowest51San Juan County

Median13630 counties

Map of counties, 2024

Under 91
91 to 100
100 to 140
140 to 150
150 to 160
160 and over
No data

index, 2024. 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, 2024

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2024 index	Change on 2023
1	La Plata County	240	+29
2	Jefferson County	174	+31
3	Denver County	172	-7
4	Douglas County	166	-11
4	El Paso County	166	+12
6	Weld County	164	+2
7	Adams County	161	-13
7	Arapahoe County	161	+25
7	Larimer County	161	+5
10	Boulder County	154	-27
11	Gilpin County	150	+21
12	Park County	147	0
13	Pueblo County	143	+28
14	Rio Blanco County	142	-24
15	Clear Creek County	136	0
15	Mesa County	136	+46
17	Garfield County	133	+7
18	Chaffee County	112	-3
19	Jackson County	105	-3
20	Montezuma County	101	+21
21	Gunnison County	100	+7
22	Alamosa County	98	+28
22	Prowers County	98	-5
24	San Miguel County	97	+13
25	Grand County	93	+16
26	Archuleta County	80	-40
27	Pitkin County	76	+25
28	Fremont County	59	-12
29	Routt County	53	-5
30	San Juan County	51	+1

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. 10 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2024 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), 2024) [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), 2024. 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=2024. 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), 2024. 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=2024.

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), 2024 [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=2024 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_colorado_by_2024,
  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), 2024}},
  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=2024. 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), 2024
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=2024
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/colorado-counties?period=2024.
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)?

La Plata County, with 240 in 2024, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

San Juan County, with 51 in 2024.

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. 10 counties have no value for 2024 and are not ranked.