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

Luna County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 18 counties in 2008, at 977. Los Alamos County had the lowest, at 52. The median was 89. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest977Luna County

Lowest52Los Alamos County

Median8918 counties

Map of counties, 2008

Under 59
59 to 75
75 to 97
97 to 120
120 and over
No data

index, 2008. 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, 2008

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2008 index	Change on 2007
1	Luna County	977	+808
2	Doña Ana County	411	+224
3	Bernalillo County	143	-35
4	San Juan County	122	-11
5	Eddy County	115	+22
6	Santa Fe County	100	+13
7	Lea County	97	0
7	Sandoval County	97	-52
9	Valencia County	91	+30
10	Grant County	87	+7
11	McKinley County	76	n/a
12	Chaves County	72	-10
13	Lincoln County	66	+12
14	Taos County	64	+1
15	Socorro County	56	-20
16	Rio Arriba County	54	-1
17	Catron County	53	-35
18	Los Alamos County	52	-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. 3 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2008 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), 2008) [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), 2008. 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=2008. 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), 2008. 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=2008.

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), 2008 [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=2008 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_mexico_2008,
  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), 2008}},
  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=2008. 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), 2008
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=2008
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-mexico-counties?period=2008.
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)?

Luna County, with 977 in 2008, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Los Alamos County, with 52 in 2008.

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 2008 and are not ranked.