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

Wilkinson County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 32 counties in 2009, at 287. Charlton County had the lowest, at 65. The median was 117. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Median11732 counties

Map of counties, 2009

Bibb County: 201 indexCharlton County: 65 indexChatham County: 115 indexChattooga County: 100 indexClarke County: 112 indexClayton County: 85 indexCobb County: 164 indexCoffee County: 132 indexColumbia County: 90 indexCoweta County: 102 indexDawson County: 101 indexDeKalb County: 143 indexDougherty County: 120 indexDouglas County: 147 indexFloyd County: 119 indexFulton County: 172 indexGlynn County: 144 indexGwinnett County: 147 indexHall County: 93 indexHenry County: 136 indexHouston County: 111 indexLowndes County: 98 indexMurray County: 133 indexMuscogee County: 106 indexPaulding County: 108 indexPike County: 100 indexRichmond County: 151 indexRockdale County: 154 indexSumter County: 74 indexWalker County: 155 indexWashington County: 107 indexWilkinson County: 287 index
  • Under 98
  • 98 to 110
  • 110 to 120
  • 120 to 140
  • 140 to 150
  • 150 and over
  • No data
index, 2009. 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, 2009

Wilkinson County: 287 indexWilkinson County287Bibb County: 201 indexBibb County201Fulton County: 172 indexFulton County172Cobb County: 164 indexCobb County164Walker County: 155 indexWalker County155Rockdale County: 154 indexRockdale County154Richmond County: 151 indexRichmond County151Douglas County: 147 indexDouglas County147Gwinnett County: 147 indexGwinnett County147Glynn County: 144 indexGlynn County144DeKalb County: 143 indexDeKalb County143Henry County: 136 indexHenry County136Murray County: 133 indexMurray County133Coffee County: 132 indexCoffee County132Dougherty County: 120 indexDougherty County120Floyd County: 119 indexFloyd County119Chatham County: 115 indexChatham County115Clarke County: 112 indexClarke County112Houston County: 111 indexHouston County111Paulding County: 108 indexPaulding County108Washington County: 107 indexWashington County107Muscogee County: 106 indexMuscogee County106Coweta County: 102 indexCoweta County102Dawson County: 101 indexDawson County101Chattooga County: 100 indexChattooga County100Pike County: 100 indexPike County100Lowndes County: 98 indexLowndes County98Hall County: 93 indexHall County93Columbia County: 90 indexColumbia County90Clayton County: 85 indexClayton County85Sumter County: 74 indexSumter County74Charlton County: 65 indexCharlton County65Wilkinson County: 287 indexWilkinson County287Bibb County: 201 indexBibb County201Fulton County: 172 indexFulton County172Cobb County: 164 indexCobb County164Walker County: 155 indexWalker County155Rockdale County: 154 indexRockdale County154Richmond County: 151 indexRichmond County151Douglas County: 147 indexDouglas County147Gwinnett County: 147 indexGwinnett County147Glynn County: 144 indexGlynn County144DeKalb County: 143 indexDeKalb County143Henry County: 136 indexHenry County136Murray County: 133 indexMurray County133Coffee County: 132 indexCoffee County132Dougherty County: 120 indexDougherty County120Floyd County: 119 indexFloyd County119Chatham County: 115 indexChatham County115Clarke County: 112 indexClarke County112Houston County: 111 indexHouston County111Paulding County: 108 indexPaulding County108Washington County: 107 indexWashington County107Muscogee County: 106 indexMuscogee County106Coweta County: 102 indexCoweta County102Dawson County: 101 indexDawson County101Chattooga County: 100 indexChattooga County100Pike County: 100 indexPike County100Lowndes County: 98 indexLowndes County98Hall County: 93 indexHall County93Columbia County: 90 indexColumbia County90Clayton County: 85 indexClayton County85Sumter County: 74 indexSumter County74Charlton County: 65 indexCharlton County65
index. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

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. 7 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2009 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 Georgia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2009) [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 Georgia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2009. 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/georgia-counties?period=2009. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Georgia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2009. 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/georgia-counties?period=2009.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Georgia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2009 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/georgia-counties?period=2009 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{environmental_counties_in_georgia_by_2009,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Georgia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2009}},
  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/georgia-counties?period=2009. 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 Georgia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2009
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/georgia-counties?period=2009
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/georgia-counties?period=2009.
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 Georgia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"aqi_max","level":"province","within":"Georgia","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Wilkinson County, with 287 in 2009, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Charlton County, with 65 in 2009.

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. 7 counties have no value for 2009 and are not ranked.

Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA): other rankings

Counties in Georgia: more rankings