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

Harris County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 41 counties in 2015, at 203. Culberson County had the lowest, at 66. The median was 115. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest203Harris County

Lowest66Culberson County

Median11541 counties

Map of counties, 2015

Under 91
91 to 100
100 to 120
120 to 140
140 to 160
160 and over
No data

index, 2015. 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, 2015

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2015 index	Change on 2014
1	Harris County	203	+52
2	Galveston County	190	+71
3	Denton County	172	+16
3	Tarrant County	172	+16
5	Brazoria County	164	-10
5	Jefferson County	164	+31
7	Bexar County	156	+20
7	Johnson County	156	+27
9	Hood County	151	-13
10	Travis County	150	+53
11	Dallas County	147	+41
12	Collin County	143	0
12	Gregg County	143	+28
14	Rockwall County	140	+35
15	El Paso County	136	-24
15	Ellis County	136	+39
17	Bell County	133	+21
17	Montgomery County	133	0
17	Parker County	133	+7
20	Potter County	128	+8
21	McLennan County	115	+10
22	Nueces County	112	+7
23	Cameron County	108	+9
23	Smith County	108	+8
25	Hidalgo County	107	+18
26	Navarro County	105	+12
26	Victoria County	105	+12
28	Orange County	100	-29
29	Randall County	97	+4
30	Harrison County	96	-5
31	Kleberg County	95	-4
31	Webb County	95	+11
33	Kaufman County	93	+9
33	Polk County	93	-19
35	Brewster County	87	+3
36	Maverick County	83	+2
37	Bowie County	81	+6
38	Fayette County	80	-10
38	Hunt County	80	0
40	Ector County	76	-12
41	Culberson County	66	-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. 22 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2015 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 Texas by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2015) [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 Texas by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2015. 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/texas-counties?period=2015. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Texas by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2015. 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/texas-counties?period=2015.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Texas by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/texas-counties?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_texas_by_2015,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Texas by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2015}},
  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/texas-counties?period=2015. 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 Texas by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2015
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/texas-counties?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/texas-counties?period=2015.
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 Texas by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.

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Questions

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

Harris County, with 203 in 2015, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Culberson County, with 66 in 2015.

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. 22 counties have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.