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

Anoka County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 21 counties in 2012, at 185. Cass County had the lowest, at 64. The median was 102. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest185Anoka County

Lowest64Cass County

Median10221 counties

Map of counties, 2012

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

index, 2012. 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, 2012

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2012 index	Change on 2011
1	Anoka County	185	+52
2	Carlton County	122	+73
3	Scott County	119	+18
4	Olmsted County	112	+13
4	St. Louis County	112	+11
6	Becker County	108	+8
6	Lake County	108	-62
8	Washington County	107	-22
9	Stearns County	105	+4
10	Hennepin County	104	+8
11	Ramsey County	102	+6
12	Lyon County	101	0
13	Wright County	100	-5
14	Crow Wing County	99	-13
15	Dakota County	95	-2
16	Mille Lacs County	93	-8
17	Goodhue County	90	-22
18	Winona County	86	+13
19	Rock County	69	0
20	Cook County	65	-61
21	Cass County	64	+6

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. 19 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2012 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 Minnesota by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2012) [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 Minnesota by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2012. 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/minnesota-counties?period=2012. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Minnesota by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2012. 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/minnesota-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Minnesota by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2012 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/minnesota-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_minnesota_by_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Minnesota by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2012}},
  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/minnesota-counties?period=2012. 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 Minnesota by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2012
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/minnesota-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/minnesota-counties?period=2012.
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 Minnesota by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.

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

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

Anoka County, with 185 in 2012, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Cass County, with 64 in 2012.

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. 19 counties have no value for 2012 and are not ranked.