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

Morris County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 19 counties in 1982, at 248. Salem County had the lowest, at 71. The median was 215. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest248Morris County

Lowest71Salem County

Median21519 counties

Map of counties, 1982

Under 110
110 to 200
200 to 220
220 to 230
230 and over
No data

index, 1982. 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, 1982

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	1982 index	Change on 1981
1	Morris County	248	+34
2	Hunterdon County	246	+36
3	Bergen County	237	+30
4	Gloucester County	233	+227
5	Burlington County	228	+3
6	Mercer County	223	-6
6	Middlesex County	223	+14
6	Union County	223	+13
9	Atlantic County	221	-47
10	Camden County	215	-20
11	Somerset County	207	-12
12	Hudson County	204	-49
13	Essex County	200	-16
14	Cape May County	192	-38
15	Monmouth County	113	+5
16	Passaic County	108	+47
17	Ocean County	99	+10
18	Warren County	78	-21
19	Salem County	71	+7

Other periods

1983
1982
1981
1980

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. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1982 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 New Jersey by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1982) [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 Jersey by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1982. 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-jersey-counties?period=1982. 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 Jersey by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1982. 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-jersey-counties?period=1982.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in New Jersey by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1982 [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-jersey-counties?period=1982 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_jersey_1982,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in New Jersey by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1982}},
  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-jersey-counties?period=1982. 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 Jersey by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1982
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-jersey-counties?period=1982
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-jersey-counties?period=1982.
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)?

Morris County, with 248 in 1982, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Salem County, with 71 in 1982.

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. 1 counties have no value for 1982 and are not ranked.