Data / Rankings / Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) / Counties in Virginia

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

Hampton city had the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 44 counties in 1993, at 219. Chesapeake city had the lowest, at 43. The median was 127. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Keep it in a collection in your library.
Highest219Hampton city
Lowest43Chesapeake city
Median12744 counties

Map of counties, 1993

Amherst County: 179 indexArlington County: 203 indexAugusta County: 156 indexCampbell County: 55 indexCaroline County: 174 indexCarroll County: 58 indexCharles City County: 210 indexChesterfield County: 204 indexCulpeper County: 51 indexFairfax County: 210 indexFauquier County: 185 indexFrederick County: 164 indexGiles County: 159 indexHanover County: 200 indexHenrico County: 182 indexIsle of Wight County: 51 indexKing William County: 48 indexLoudoun County: 55 indexMadison County: 166 indexNorthumberland County: 51 indexPrince Edward County: 156 indexPrince William County: 179 indexRoanoke County: 166 indexSmyth County: 52 indexStafford County: 187 indexWarren County: 151 indexWythe County: 156 indexYork County: 64 indexAlexandria city: 187 indexBristol city: 53 indexCharlottesville city: 53 indexChesapeake city: 43 indexCovington city: 63 indexFairfax city: 55 indexFredericksburg city: 53 indexHampton city: 219 indexLynchburg city: 57 indexMartinsville city: 58 indexNewport News city: 47 indexNorfolk city: 77 indexRichmond city: 103 indexRoanoke city: 65 indexSuffolk city: 210 indexWinchester city: 54 index
  • Under 53
  • 53 to 57
  • 57 to 130
  • 130 to 170
  • 170 to 190
  • 190 and over
  • No data
index, 1993. 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, 1993

Hampton city: 219 indexHampton city219Charles City County: 210 indexCharles City County210Fairfax County: 210 indexFairfax County210Suffolk city: 210 indexSuffolk city210Chesterfield County: 204 indexChesterfield County204Arlington County: 203 indexArlington County203Hanover County: 200 indexHanover County200Alexandria city: 187 indexAlexandria city187Stafford County: 187 indexStafford County187Fauquier County: 185 indexFauquier County185Henrico County: 182 indexHenrico County182Amherst County: 179 indexAmherst County179Prince William County: 179 indexPrince William County179Caroline County: 174 indexCaroline County174Madison County: 166 indexMadison County166Roanoke County: 166 indexRoanoke County166Frederick County: 164 indexFrederick County164Giles County: 159 indexGiles County159Augusta County: 156 indexAugusta County156Prince Edward County: 156 indexPrince Edward County156Wythe County: 156 indexWythe County156Warren County: 151 indexWarren County151Richmond city: 103 indexRichmond city103Norfolk city: 77 indexNorfolk city77Roanoke city: 65 indexRoanoke city65York County: 64 indexYork County64Covington city: 63 indexCovington city63Carroll County: 58 indexCarroll County58Martinsville city: 58 indexMartinsville city58Lynchburg city: 57 indexLynchburg city57Campbell County: 55 indexCampbell County55Fairfax city: 55 indexFairfax city55Loudoun County: 55 indexLoudoun County55Winchester city: 54 indexWinchester city54Bristol city: 53 indexBristol city53Charlottesville city: 53 indexCharlottesville city53Fredericksburg city: 53 indexFredericksburg city53Smyth County: 52 indexSmyth County52Culpeper County: 51 indexCulpeper County51Isle of Wight County: 51 indexIsle of Wight County51Northumberland County: 51 indexNorthumberland County51King William County: 48 indexKing William County48Newport News city: 47 indexNewport News city47Chesapeake city: 43 indexChesapeake city43Hampton city: 219 indexHampton city219Charles City County: 210 indexCharles City County210Fairfax County: 210 indexFairfax County210Suffolk city: 210 indexSuffolk city210Chesterfield County: 204 indexChesterfield County204Arlington County: 203 indexArlington County203Hanover County: 200 indexHanover County200Alexandria city: 187 indexAlexandria city187Stafford County: 187 indexStafford County187Fauquier County: 185 indexFauquier County185Henrico County: 182 indexHenrico County182Amherst County: 179 indexAmherst County179Prince William County: 179 indexPrince William County179Caroline County: 174 indexCaroline County174Madison County: 166 indexMadison County166Roanoke County: 166 indexRoanoke County166Frederick County: 164 indexFrederick County164Giles County: 159 indexGiles County159Augusta County: 156 indexAugusta County156Prince Edward County: 156 indexPrince Edward County156Wythe County: 156 indexWythe County156Warren County: 151 indexWarren County151Richmond city: 103 indexRichmond city103Norfolk city: 77 indexNorfolk city77Roanoke city: 65 indexRoanoke city65York County: 64 indexYork County64Covington city: 63 indexCovington city63Carroll County: 58 indexCarroll County58Martinsville city: 58 indexMartinsville city58Lynchburg city: 57 indexLynchburg city57Campbell County: 55 indexCampbell County55Fairfax city: 55 indexFairfax city55Loudoun County: 55 indexLoudoun County55Winchester city: 54 indexWinchester city54Bristol city: 53 indexBristol city53Charlottesville city: 53 indexCharlottesville city53Fredericksburg city: 53 indexFredericksburg city53Smyth County: 52 indexSmyth County52Culpeper County: 51 indexCulpeper County51Isle of Wight County: 51 indexIsle of Wight County51Northumberland County: 51 indexNorthumberland County51King William County: 48 indexKing William County48Newport News city: 47 indexNewport News city47Chesapeake city: 43 indexChesapeake city43
index. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties1993
index		Change on 1992
1Hampton city219+13
2Charles City County210+15
2Fairfax County210+18
2Suffolk city210-7
5Chesterfield County204+22
6Arlington County203+26
7Hanover County200+10
8Alexandria city187+26
8Stafford County187+94
10Fauquier County185+19
11Henrico County182-15
12Amherst County179+28
12Prince William County1790
14Caroline County174n/a
15Madison County166-8
15Roanoke County166+26
17Frederick County164+5
18Giles County159+3
19Augusta County156-10
19Prince Edward County156-8
19Wythe County156+20
22Warren County151-8
23Richmond city103+2
24Norfolk city77-29
25Roanoke city65+2
26York County64+16
27Covington city63+11
28Carroll County58+7
28Martinsville city58+12
30Lynchburg city57+11
31Campbell County55+19
31Fairfax city55-12
31Loudoun County55+21
34Winchester city54+17
35Bristol city53+6
35Charlottesville city53+18
35Fredericksburg city53+14
38Smyth County52-5
39Culpeper County51+11
39Isle of Wight County51n/a
39Northumberland County51-3
42King William County48-1
43Newport News city47-1
44Chesapeake city43-7

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. 16 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1993 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 Virginia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1993) [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 Virginia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1993. 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/virginia-counties?period=1993. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Counties in Virginia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1993. 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/virginia-counties?period=1993.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Counties in Virginia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1993 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/virginia-counties?period=1993 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{environmental_counties_in_virginia_by_1993,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Counties in Virginia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1993}},
  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/virginia-counties?period=1993. 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 Virginia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1993
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/virginia-counties?period=1993
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/highest-daily-air-quality-index/virginia-counties?period=1993.
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  -
Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

Rank Counties in Virginia by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"aqi_max","level":"province","within":"Virginia","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=aqi_max&level=province&within=Virginia&limit=10

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

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

Hampton city, with 219 in 1993, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Chesapeake city, with 43 in 1993.

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. 16 counties have no value for 1993 and are not ranked.

Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA): other rankings

Counties in Virginia: more rankings