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

Doña Ana County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 18 counties in 2001, at 240. Taos County had the lowest, at 33. The median was 75. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest240Doña Ana County

Lowest33Taos County

Median7518 counties

Map of counties, 2001

Under 54
54 to 64
64 to 83
83 to 110
110 and over
No data

index, 2001. 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, 2001

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2001 index	Change on 2000
1	Doña Ana County	240	+40
2	Bernalillo County	150	+3
3	Sandoval County	128	-5
4	San Juan County	122	-28
5	Chaves County	103	+24
6	Eddy County	100	-15
7	Valencia County	97	-15
8	Grant County	79	+21
9	Luna County	76	+40
10	Lea County	73	+10
11	Catron County	66	-14
12	Los Alamos County	58	-12
12	Rio Arriba County	58	+7
14	Santa Fe County	55	-4
15	Hidalgo County	53	+9
16	Socorro County	41	-13
17	Otero County	38	-18
18	Taos County	33	-26

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 2001 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 Mexico by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2001) [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 Mexico by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2001. 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-mexico-counties?period=2001. 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 Mexico by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2001. 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-mexico-counties?period=2001.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in New Mexico by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2001 [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-mexico-counties?period=2001 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_mexico_2001,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in New Mexico by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2001}},
  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-mexico-counties?period=2001. 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 Mexico by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2001
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-mexico-counties?period=2001
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-mexico-counties?period=2001.
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_places {"indicator":"aqi_max","level":"province","within":"New Mexico","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Doña Ana County, with 240 in 2001, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Taos County, with 33 in 2001.

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 2001 and are not ranked.