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

Deschutes County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 24 counties in 2012, at 988. Benton County had the lowest, at 69. The median was 108. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest988Deschutes County

Lowest69Benton County

Median10824 counties

Map of counties, 2012

Under 79
79 to 110
110 to 150
150 and over
No data

index, 2012. 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, 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	Deschutes County	988	+812
2	Klamath County	152	+22
2	Lake County	152	-13
4	Wallowa County	150	+62
5	Lane County	149	-2
6	Union County	147	-6
7	Coos County	143	+85
8	Baker County	137	+42
9	Harney County	135	+1
10	Jackson County	110	-11
11	Washington County	109	-38
12	Clackamas County	108	-9
12	Umatilla County	108	+4
14	Multnomah County	106	-21
15	Crook County	105	-38
16	Grant County	100	-22
17	Marion County	93	-3
18	Linn County	92	-120
19	Josephine County	80	-26
20	Jefferson County	78	-21
21	Columbia County	76	-3
21	Wasco County	76	-11
23	Douglas County	73	-22
24	Benton County	69	-17

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. 2 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 Oregon 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 Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2012. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2012.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2012 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_oregon_by_2012,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2012. 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 Oregon 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/oregon-counties?period=2012
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/oregon-counties?period=2012.
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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Rank Counties in Oregon by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"aqi_max","level":"province","within":"Oregon","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Deschutes County, with 988 in 2012, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Benton County, with 69 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. 2 counties have no value for 2012 and are not ranked.