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

Rockingham County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 10 counties in 1997, at 217. Carroll County had the lowest, at 147. The median was 184. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Median18410 counties

Map of counties, 1997

Belknap County: 154 indexCarroll County: 147 indexCheshire County: 185 indexCoos County: 187 indexGrafton County: 150 indexHillsborough County: 202 indexMerrimack County: 182 indexRockingham County: 217 indexStrafford County: 203 indexSullivan County: 156 index
  • Under 150
  • 150 to 170
  • 170 to 190
  • 190 to 200
  • 200 and over
index, 1997. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 1997

Rockingham County: 217 indexRockingham County217Strafford County: 203 indexStrafford County203Hillsborough County: 202 indexHillsborough County202Coos County: 187 indexCoos County187Cheshire County: 185 indexCheshire County185Merrimack County: 182 indexMerrimack County182Sullivan County: 156 indexSullivan County156Belknap County: 154 indexBelknap County154Grafton County: 150 indexGrafton County150Carroll County: 147 indexCarroll County147Rockingham County: 217 indexRockingham County217Strafford County: 203 indexStrafford County203Hillsborough County: 202 indexHillsborough County202Coos County: 187 indexCoos County187Cheshire County: 185 indexCheshire County185Merrimack County: 182 indexMerrimack County182Sullivan County: 156 indexSullivan County156Belknap County: 154 indexBelknap County154Grafton County: 150 indexGrafton County150Carroll County: 147 indexCarroll County147
index. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties1997
index
Change on 1996
1Rockingham County217+56
2Strafford County203+44
3Hillsborough County202+34
4Coos County187+58
5Cheshire County185+24
6Merrimack County182+26
7Sullivan County156+5
8Belknap County154+28
9Grafton County150-1
10Carroll County147+11

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. 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 New Hampshire by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1997) [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 New Hampshire by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1997. 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/new-hampshire-counties?period=1997. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in New Hampshire by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1997. 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/new-hampshire-counties?period=1997.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in New Hampshire by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1997 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-hampshire-counties?period=1997 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_hampshire_1997,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in New Hampshire by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1997}},
  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/new-hampshire-counties?period=1997. 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 New Hampshire by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1997
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/new-hampshire-counties?period=1997
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-hampshire-counties?period=1997.
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 New Hampshire by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

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

Rockingham County, with 217 in 1997, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Carroll County, with 147 in 1997.

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.

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

Counties in New Hampshire: more rankings