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

Suffolk County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 35 counties in 2001, at 213. Rensselaer County had the lowest, at 28. The median was 166. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest213Suffolk County

Lowest28Rensselaer County

Median16635 counties

Map of counties, 2001

Under 140
140 to 160
160 to 170
170 to 190
190 to 210
210 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	Suffolk County	213	-3
2	Erie County	209	+22
2	Jefferson County	209	+30
4	New York County	207	-1
4	Niagara County	207	+51
6	Putnam County	206	+19
7	Richmond County	205	-9
8	Westchester County	202	-3
9	Wayne County	197	+31
10	Chautauqua County	195	-9
11	Queens County	192	-21
11	Saratoga County	192	+13
13	Dutchess County	187	+5
14	Onondaga County	182	+3
14	Orange County	182	+5
16	Albany County	179	+20
17	Monroe County	178	+12
18	Essex County	166	-29
18	Oneida County	166	-13
20	Ulster County	164	0
21	Madison County	161	-5
22	Schenectady County	159	0
23	Bronx County	156	-39
23	Hamilton County	156	-29
25	Chemung County	151	-10
25	Tompkins County	151	+1
27	Steuben County	150	+51
28	Herkimer County	147	-19
29	Kings County	140	-24
30	Nassau County	138	+24
31	St. Lawrence County	105	+28
32	Broome County	102	+10
33	Franklin County	44	+30
34	Columbia County	35	+1
35	Rensselaer County	28	n/a

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. 4 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 York 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 York 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-york-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 York 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-york-counties?period=2001.

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), 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-york-counties?period=2001 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_york_2001,
  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), 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-york-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 York 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-york-counties?period=2001
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-york-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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Questions

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

Suffolk County, with 213 in 2001, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Rensselaer County, with 28 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. 4 counties have no value for 2001 and are not ranked.