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

East Baton Rouge Parish had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 27 counties in 2002, at 201. Plaquemines Parish had the lowest, at 64. The median was 136. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest201East Baton Rouge Parish

Lowest64Plaquemines Parish

Median13627 counties

Map of counties, 2002

Under 110
110 to 130
130 to 140
140 to 150
150 and over
No data

index, 2002. 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, 2002

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2002 index	Change on 2001
1	East Baton Rouge Parish	201	+27
2	St. Bernard Parish	172	+25
3	Iberville Parish	169	-13
4	St. James Parish	166	+16
5	Livingston Parish	154	+3
6	Ascension Parish	150	+17
6	Jefferson Parish	150	-22
6	Ouachita Parish	150	+10
9	Pointe Coupee Parish	147	-3
9	St. Charles Parish	147	-9
11	Lafayette Parish	143	-7
11	West Baton Rouge Parish	143	-57
13	Grant Parish	140	-11
14	Calcasieu Parish	136	-33
15	Caddo Parish	134	-16
16	Bossier Parish	133	-33
16	St. John the Baptist Parish	133	-17
18	Beauregard Parish	122	-25
19	Lafourche Parish	115	-57
20	Orleans Parish	112	-10
21	Rapides Parish	111	+14
22	Concordia Parish	110	+25
23	St. Mary Parish	105	-21
24	Winn Parish	94	-18
25	Tangipahoa Parish	84	-12
26	Terrebonne Parish	75	-11
27	Plaquemines Parish	64	-14

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 2002 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 Louisiana by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002) [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 Louisiana by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002. 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/louisiana-counties?period=2002. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Louisiana by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002. 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/louisiana-counties?period=2002.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Louisiana by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/louisiana-counties?period=2002 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_louisiana_by_2002,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Louisiana by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002}},
  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/louisiana-counties?period=2002. 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 Louisiana by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002
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/louisiana-counties?period=2002
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/louisiana-counties?period=2002.
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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Questions

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

East Baton Rouge Parish, with 201 in 2002, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Plaquemines Parish, with 64 in 2002.

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 2002 and are not ranked.