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

Chautauqua County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 36 counties in 2003, at 214. Columbia County had the lowest, at 49. The median was 181. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest214Chautauqua County

Lowest49Columbia County

Median18136 counties

Map of counties, 2003

Under 140
140 to 170
170 to 180
180 to 190
190 to 200
200 and over
No data

index, 2003. 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, 2003

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2003 index	Change on 2002
1	Chautauqua County	214	+8
2	Suffolk County	213	-11
3	Richmond County	209	+3
4	Niagara County	205	+13
5	Oswego County	204	+166
6	Jefferson County	202	-7
7	Erie County	201	-7
8	Madison County	197	+25
8	Queens County	197	+15
10	Wayne County	190	-2
11	Bronx County	187	-13
11	Saratoga County	187	-5
13	Essex County	185	-17
13	Oneida County	185	+6
15	Albany County	182	-19
15	Onondaga County	182	0
15	Putnam County	182	-31
15	Schenectady County	182	-18
19	Westchester County	179	-37
20	Tompkins County	177	-15
21	Monroe County	172	-30
21	New York County	172	+2
21	Rensselaer County	172	-36
21	Ulster County	172	+13
25	Chemung County	164	-13
25	Orange County	164	-49
27	Hamilton County	161	-8
27	Herkimer County	161	+2
29	Dutchess County	143	-91
30	Kings County	140	-33
31	Nassau County	134	-35
32	St. Lawrence County	131	-22
33	Steuben County	128	-19
34	Broome County	69	-61
35	Franklin County	51	-7
36	Columbia County	49	-9

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 2003 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), 2003) [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), 2003. 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=2003. 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), 2003. 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=2003.

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), 2003 [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=2003 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_york_2003,
  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), 2003}},
  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=2003. 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), 2003
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=2003
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-york-counties?period=2003.
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 214 in 2003, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Columbia County, with 49 in 2003.

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 2003 and are not ranked.