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

Hillsborough County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 39 counties in 2017, at 150. Putnam County had the lowest, at 53. The median was 100. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest150Hillsborough County

Lowest53Putnam County

Median10039 counties

Map of counties, 2017

Under 90
90 to 93
93 to 100
100 to 110
110 to 130
130 and over
No data

index, 2017. 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, 2017

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2017 index	Change on 2016
1	Hillsborough County	150	-4
2	Orange County	147	+50
3	Broward County	143	+50
3	Polk County	143	+53
5	Pinellas County	140	+43
6	Miami-Dade County	136	-8
7	Manatee County	133	+46
7	Osceola County	133	+43
7	Seminole County	133	+46
10	Lake County	122	+7
11	Escambia County	115	+18
11	Martin County	115	+28
11	Sarasota County	115	+18
14	Palm Beach County	112	-52
14	Pasco County	112	+7
14	St. Lucie County	112	+19
17	Duval County	101	+4
17	Indian River County	101	+17
17	Marion County	101	-4
20	Columbia County	100	+10
21	Bay County	97	+10
21	Brevard County	97	+13
21	Santa Rosa County	97	+17
24	Citrus County	96	-8
25	Volusia County	95	+5
26	Alachua County	93	-8
26	Collier County	93	+6
26	Flagler County	93	+19
26	Nassau County	93	+7
26	Wakulla County	93	-90
31	Baker County	90	+10
31	Highlands County	90	+3
31	Lee County	90	-15
34	Leon County	89	+4
35	Okaloosa County	87	+16
36	Hamilton County	84	+10
37	Holmes County	83	+3
38	Liberty County	61	-6
39	Putnam County	53	+8

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. 3 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2017 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 Florida by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2017) [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 Florida by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2017. 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/florida-counties?period=2017. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Florida by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2017. 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/florida-counties?period=2017.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Florida by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2017 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/florida-counties?period=2017 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_florida_by_2017,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Florida by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2017}},
  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/florida-counties?period=2017. 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 Florida by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2017
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/florida-counties?period=2017
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/florida-counties?period=2017.
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 Florida by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.

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

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

Hillsborough County, with 150 in 2017, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Putnam County, with 53 in 2017.

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. 3 counties have no value for 2017 and are not ranked.