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

Shelby County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 30 counties in 1998, at 219. Henry County had the lowest, at 36. The median was 173. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest219Shelby County

Lowest36Henry County

Median17330 counties

Map of counties, 1998

Under 57
57 to 110
110 to 170
170 to 200
200 to 210
210 and over
No data

index, 1998. 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, 1998

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	1998 index	Change on 1997
1	Shelby County	219	+17
2	Blount County	218	+12
2	Knox County	218	+12
4	Hamilton County	213	+44
5	Sevier County	208	+11
6	Sumner County	206	+1
7	Haywood County	205	+54
7	Jefferson County	205	+3
7	Williamson County	205	+31
10	Davidson County	202	+5
11	Sullivan County	197	+28
12	Claiborne County	190	+21
13	Putnam County	187	+15
14	Lawrence County	179	+23
15	Wilson County	174	-5
16	Rutherford County	172	-7
17	Anderson County	164	+13
17	Coffee County	164	n/a
19	DeKalb County	159	-7
20	Bradley County	115	-51
21	Union County	111	-50
22	McMinn County	82	+20
23	Maury County	67	+12
24	Hamblen County	61	-98
25	Roane County	59	-2
26	Montgomery County	44	-2
26	Washington County	44	-7
28	Madison County	41	-7
29	Dickson County	38	-1
30	Henry County	36	-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. 12 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1998 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 Tennessee by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998) [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 Tennessee by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998. 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/tennessee-counties?period=1998. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Tennessee by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998. 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/tennessee-counties?period=1998.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Tennessee by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/tennessee-counties?period=1998 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_tennessee_by_1998,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Tennessee by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998}},
  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/tennessee-counties?period=1998. 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 Tennessee by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998
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/tennessee-counties?period=1998
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/tennessee-counties?period=1998.
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)?

Shelby County, with 219 in 1998, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Henry County, with 36 in 1998.

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. 12 counties have no value for 1998 and are not ranked.