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

Richland County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 27 counties in 2004, at 182. Horry County had the lowest, at 92. The median was 133. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest182Richland County

Lowest92Horry County

Median13327 counties

Map of counties, 2004

Under 110
110 to 120
120 to 140
140 to 150
150 and over
No data

index, 2004. 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, 2004

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2004 index	Change on 2003
1	Richland County	182	+13
2	Spartanburg County	156	-16
3	Chesterfield County	154	+3
3	Edgefield County	154	+49
5	Charleston County	151	+15
5	Darlington County	151	-3
7	Abbeville County	150	0
8	Aiken County	147	+25
8	Oconee County	147	+7
8	York County	147	+18
11	Anderson County	140	-10
12	Chester County	136	-11
13	Berkeley County	133	0
13	Pickens County	133	-10
15	Barnwell County	129	+3
16	Lexington County	119	+24
17	Cherokee County	115	-39
17	Orangeburg County	115	+26
17	Union County	115	-32
20	Colleton County	112	-7
20	Williamsburg County	112	-14
22	Georgetown County	110	+22
23	Greenville County	108	-10
24	Beaufort County	101	+21
24	Greenwood County	101	-3
26	Florence County	95	+3
27	Horry County	92	+5

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 2004 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), 2004) [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), 2004. 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=2004. 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), 2004. 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=2004.

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), 2004 [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=2004 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_south_carolina_2004,
  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), 2004}},
  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=2004. 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), 2004
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=2004
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/south-carolina-counties?period=2004.
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)?

Richland County, with 182 in 2004, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Horry County, with 92 in 2004.

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 2004 and are not ranked.