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

Bexar County had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 45 counties in 2022, at 214. Karnes County had the lowest, at 34. The median was 120. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Highest214Bexar County

Lowest34Karnes County

Median12045 counties

Map of counties, 2022

Under 97
97 to 110
110 to 120
120 to 130
130 to 150
150 and over
No data

index, 2022. 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, 2022

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

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2022 index	Change on 2021
1	Bexar County	214	+67
2	Denton County	187	+8
3	Harrison County	181	+20
4	Harris County	179	0
5	Tarrant County	172	-37
6	El Paso County	163	+13
7	Galveston County	159	+37
8	Johnson County	156	+20
9	Hood County	150	+28
10	Dallas County	148	-26
11	Parker County	147	+11
12	Collin County	143	-11
12	Gregg County	143	+50
14	Lubbock County	138	+53
15	Hidalgo County	136	+28
16	Kleberg County	133	+24
17	Bell County	129	+7
17	Jefferson County	129	+14
17	Travis County	129	+28
20	Montgomery County	126	-25
21	Randall County	122	+3
21	Smith County	122	+22
23	Cameron County	120	+21
24	Brazoria County	119	-40
24	Culberson County	119	-7
26	Atascosa County	115	+28
27	Webb County	114	+17
28	Kaufman County	112	+28
29	Orange County	108	+28
29	Potter County	108	+25
31	Maverick County	107	+19
32	Nueces County	106	-7
33	Navarro County	101	+1
34	McLennan County	100	0
34	Rockwall County	100	+13
36	Bowie County	99	-7
37	Ellis County	97	-8
37	Hunt County	97	+4
37	Polk County	97	+36
40	Brazos County	94	+9
40	Ector County	94	+3
42	Brewster County	87	-18
43	Victoria County	74	-23
44	Wilson County	44	+17
45	Karnes County	34	+8

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. 18 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2022 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), 2022) [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), 2022. 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=2022. 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), 2022. 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=2022.

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), 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_texas_by_2022,
  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), 2022}},
  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=2022. 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), 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/texas-counties?period=2022.
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)?

Bexar County, with 214 in 2022, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Karnes County, with 34 in 2022.

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. 18 counties have no value for 2022 and are not ranked.