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 34 counties in 2006, at 226. St. Lawrence County had the lowest, at 87. The median was 133. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest226Suffolk County

Lowest87St. Lawrence County

Median13334 counties

Map of counties, 2006

Under 110
110 to 120
120 to 130
130 to 140
140 to 160
160 and over
No data

index, 2006. 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, 2006

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2006 index	Change on 2005
1	Suffolk County	226	+36
2	Richmond County	208	+18
3	Westchester County	207	+6
4	Bronx County	185	+6
5	Putnam County	172	-45
6	Queens County	159	-7
6	Saratoga County	159	-13
8	Chautauqua County	151	-28
8	Erie County	151	-44
8	New York County	151	+30
11	Monroe County	143	-4
11	Orange County	143	-31
13	Oswego County	140	-26
14	Essex County	136	-20
15	Albany County	133	-33
15	Franklin County	133	-23
15	Hamilton County	133	-17
15	Madison County	133	+11
15	Niagara County	133	-52
20	Rensselaer County	129	-58
20	Ulster County	129	-18
22	Jefferson County	122	-65
22	Onondaga County	122	-32
24	Tompkins County	119	-32
24	Wayne County	119	+7
26	Chemung County	115	-4
26	Herkimer County	115	-14
26	Steuben County	115	-8
29	Kings County	113	-3
30	Dutchess County	108	-53
31	Nassau County	106	-6
32	Oneida County	101	-32
32	Schenectady County	101	-46
34	St. Lawrence County	87	-12

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. 5 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2006 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), 2006) [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), 2006. 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=2006. 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), 2006. 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=2006.

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), 2006 [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=2006 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_york_2006,
  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), 2006}},
  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=2006. 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), 2006
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=2006
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-york-counties?period=2006.
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 226 in 2006, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

St. Lawrence County, with 87 in 2006.

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. 5 counties have no value for 2006 and are not ranked.