Counties in New York by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2012

Chautauqua County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 33 counties in 2012, at 197. Madison County had the lowest, at 47. The median was 122. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest197Chautauqua County

Lowest47Madison County

Median12233 counties

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	Chautauqua County	197	+38
2	Suffolk County	174	-35
3	Niagara County	169	+19
4	Rockland County	159	+37
5	Essex County	154	+61
6	Erie County	151	+36
6	Monroe County	151	+39
6	Westchester County	151	-31
9	Hamilton County	150	+49
10	Richmond County	147	-22
11	Albany County	143	+3
11	Queens County	143	-34
13	Jefferson County	140	+11
14	Bronx County	133	-28
14	Onondaga County	133	+14
16	Wayne County	126	+29
17	New York County	122	-37
17	Oswego County	122	-4
19	Dutchess County	119	-66
19	Putnam County	119	-17
21	Chemung County	115	+10
21	Tompkins County	115	+25
23	Oneida County	108	+15
23	Rensselaer County	108	-32
23	Saratoga County	108	0
26	Ulster County	101	-21
27	Steuben County	100	-60
28	Orange County	97	-69
29	Herkimer County	93	+3
30	Nassau County	87	-21
31	Kings County	85	-26
32	Franklin County	72	-32
33	Madison County	47	-53

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. 6 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 New York 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 New York 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/new-york-counties. 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 York 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/new-york-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in New York 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/new-york-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_york_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in New York 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/new-york-counties. 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 York 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/new-york-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-york-counties.
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)?

Chautauqua County, with 197 in 2012, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Madison County, with 47 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. 6 counties have no value for 2012 and are not ranked.