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

Cherokee County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 27 counties in 2002, at 202. Beaufort County had the lowest, at 83. The median was 172. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest202Cherokee County

Lowest83Beaufort County

Median17227 counties

Map of counties, 2002

Under 120
120 to 160
160 to 180
180 to 190
190 and over
No data

index, 2002. 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, 2002

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2002 index	Change on 2001
1	Cherokee County	202	+25
1	Spartanburg County	202	+30
3	Richland County	197	+18
4	Anderson County	195	+13
5	Abbeville County	192	+28
5	Chester County	192	+28
7	Edgefield County	190	+64
7	York County	190	+43
9	Pickens County	187	+8
10	Aiken County	185	-12
10	Darlington County	185	+35
12	Oconee County	179	+29
13	Union County	177	+34
14	Chesterfield County	172	+86
15	Horry County	166	+76
16	Barnwell County	164	-18
17	Charleston County	159	+51
17	Colleton County	159	+12
19	Berkeley County	151	+39
19	Williamsburg County	151	+50
21	Greenville County	136	-20
22	Lexington County	115	+19
23	Greenwood County	109	+16
24	Florence County	93	+9
25	Orangeburg County	88	n/a
26	Georgetown County	87	+3
27	Beaufort County	83	-6

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. 1 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2002 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 South Carolina by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002) [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 South Carolina by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002. 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/south-carolina-counties?period=2002. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in South Carolina by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002. 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/south-carolina-counties?period=2002.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in South Carolina by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/south-carolina-counties?period=2002 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_south_carolina_2002,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in South Carolina by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002}},
  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/south-carolina-counties?period=2002. 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 South Carolina by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2002
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/south-carolina-counties?period=2002
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/south-carolina-counties?period=2002.
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_places {"indicator":"aqi_max","level":"province","within":"South Carolina","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Cherokee County, with 202 in 2002, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Beaufort County, with 83 in 2002.

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. 1 counties have no value for 2002 and are not ranked.