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

Richmond County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 34 counties in 2010, at 208. Franklin County had the lowest, at 67. The median was 122. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest208Richmond County

Lowest67Franklin County

Median12234 counties

Map of counties, 2010

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

index, 2010. 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, 2010

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2010 index	Change on 2009
1	Richmond County	208	+58
2	Queens County	169	+57
3	Dutchess County	166	+44
3	Putnam County	166	+37
3	Suffolk County	166	+15
6	Essex County	162	+26
7	Chautauqua County	159	+26
8	Rockland County	156	+56
9	Orange County	154	+46
10	Westchester County	150	+31
11	Albany County	147	+32
12	Jefferson County	143	-11
13	Madison County	140	+43
13	Onondaga County	140	+21
15	Bronx County	136	-11
16	Chemung County	122	+25
16	Erie County	122	-4
16	Rensselaer County	122	0
16	Schenectady County	122	+10
16	Tompkins County	122	+29
21	New York County	119	-7
22	Niagara County	115	-14
22	Oswego County	115	+7
22	Ulster County	115	+7
25	Wayne County	112	+15
26	Monroe County	108	-57
27	Kings County	106	+1
28	Hamilton County	105	0
28	Herkimer County	105	0
28	Saratoga County	105	-17
31	Steuben County	100	-1
32	Oneida County	97	+9
33	Nassau County	96	-12
34	Franklin County	67	-80

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 2010 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), 2010) [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), 2010. 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=2010. 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), 2010. 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=2010.

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), 2010 [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=2010 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_new_york_2010,
  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), 2010}},
  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=2010. 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), 2010
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=2010
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/new-york-counties?period=2010.
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)?

Richmond County, with 208 in 2010, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Franklin County, with 67 in 2010.

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 2010 and are not ranked.