Data / Rankings / Median Air Quality Index (US EPA) / Counties in Georgia

Counties in Georgia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2016

DeKalb County had the highest median Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 32 counties in 2016, at 57. Charlton County had the lowest, at 31. The median was 44. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Highest57DeKalb County
Lowest31Charlton County
Median4432 counties

Map of counties, 2016

Bibb County: 50 indexCharlton County: 31 indexChatham County: 44 indexChattooga County: 42 indexClarke County: 44 indexClayton County: 46 indexCobb County: 50 indexCoffee County: 41 indexColumbia County: 40 indexCoweta County: 43 indexDawson County: 42 indexDeKalb County: 57 indexDougherty County: 48 indexDouglas County: 43 indexFloyd County: 49 indexFulton County: 55 indexGlynn County: 41 indexGwinnett County: 46 indexHall County: 40 indexHenry County: 44 indexHouston County: 44 indexLowndes County: 43 indexMurray County: 43 indexMuscogee County: 44 indexPaulding County: 52 indexPike County: 40 indexRichmond County: 46 indexRockdale County: 44 indexSumter County: 39 indexWalker County: 51 indexWashington County: 38 indexWilkinson County: 44 index
  • Under 40
  • 40 to 43
  • 43 to 44
  • 44 to 45
  • 45 to 50
  • 50 and over
  • No data
index, 2016. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2016

DeKalb County: 57 indexDeKalb County57Fulton County: 55 indexFulton County55Paulding County: 52 indexPaulding County52Walker County: 51 indexWalker County51Bibb County: 50 indexBibb County50Cobb County: 50 indexCobb County50Floyd County: 49 indexFloyd County49Dougherty County: 48 indexDougherty County48Clayton County: 46 indexClayton County46Gwinnett County: 46 indexGwinnett County46Richmond County: 46 indexRichmond County46Chatham County: 44 indexChatham County44Clarke County: 44 indexClarke County44Henry County: 44 indexHenry County44Houston County: 44 indexHouston County44Muscogee County: 44 indexMuscogee County44Rockdale County: 44 indexRockdale County44Wilkinson County: 44 indexWilkinson County44Coweta County: 43 indexCoweta County43Douglas County: 43 indexDouglas County43Lowndes County: 43 indexLowndes County43Murray County: 43 indexMurray County43Chattooga County: 42 indexChattooga County42Dawson County: 42 indexDawson County42Coffee County: 41 indexCoffee County41Glynn County: 41 indexGlynn County41Columbia County: 40 indexColumbia County40Hall County: 40 indexHall County40Pike County: 40 indexPike County40Sumter County: 39 indexSumter County39Washington County: 38 indexWashington County38Charlton County: 31 indexCharlton County31DeKalb County: 57 indexDeKalb County57Fulton County: 55 indexFulton County55Paulding County: 52 indexPaulding County52Walker County: 51 indexWalker County51Bibb County: 50 indexBibb County50Cobb County: 50 indexCobb County50Floyd County: 49 indexFloyd County49Dougherty County: 48 indexDougherty County48Clayton County: 46 indexClayton County46Gwinnett County: 46 indexGwinnett County46Richmond County: 46 indexRichmond County46Chatham County: 44 indexChatham County44Clarke County: 44 indexClarke County44Henry County: 44 indexHenry County44Houston County: 44 indexHouston County44Muscogee County: 44 indexMuscogee County44Rockdale County: 44 indexRockdale County44Wilkinson County: 44 indexWilkinson County44Coweta County: 43 indexCoweta County43Douglas County: 43 indexDouglas County43Lowndes County: 43 indexLowndes County43Murray County: 43 indexMurray County43Chattooga County: 42 indexChattooga County42Dawson County: 42 indexDawson County42Coffee County: 41 indexCoffee County41Glynn County: 41 indexGlynn County41Columbia County: 40 indexColumbia County40Hall County: 40 indexHall County40Pike County: 40 indexPike County40Sumter County: 39 indexSumter County39Washington County: 38 indexWashington County38Charlton County: 31 indexCharlton County31
index. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties2016
index		Change on 2015
1DeKalb County57+1
2Fulton County550
3Paulding County52+1
4Walker County510
5Bibb County50+2
5Cobb County500
7Floyd County49-3
8Dougherty County48-5
9Clayton County46-5
9Gwinnett County46+1
9Richmond County460
12Chatham County440
12Clarke County440
12Henry County44+2
12Houston County44-3
12Muscogee County44-1
12Rockdale County44+13
12Wilkinson County44-7
19Coweta County43+1
19Douglas County43+6
19Lowndes County43-8
19Murray County43+5
23Chattooga County42+6
23Dawson County42+4
25Coffee County41+3
25Glynn County41+3
27Columbia County40+3
27Hall County40-15
27Pike County40+5
30Sumter County39+5
31Washington County38-5
32Charlton County31-1

Other periods

About this ranking

Median of the daily Air Quality Index (AQI) values of a US county over the days of the year with an AQI, from the EPA AirData annual summaries.

More on how it is measured
  • The daily county AQI is the highest AQI among the monitors and pollutants reported that day (ozone, PM2.5, PM10, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide).
  • Lower is cleaner: 0 to 50 is good, 51 to 100 moderate and above 100 unhealthy for sensitive groups.

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. 7 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2016 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: median 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: median daily AQI (Counties in Georgia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2016) [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: median daily AQI, Counties in Georgia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2016. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 July 2026, https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-air-quality-index/georgia-counties. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI. Counties in Georgia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-air-quality-index/georgia-counties.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI, Counties in Georgia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-air-quality-index/georgia-counties (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{environmental_counties_in_georgia_by_2016,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI: Counties in Georgia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2016}},
  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/median-air-quality-index/georgia-counties. Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median 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: median daily AQI: Counties in Georgia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2016
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/median-air-quality-index/georgia-counties
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-air-quality-index/georgia-counties.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median 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 median Air Quality Index (US EPA)?

DeKalb County, with 57 in 2016, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Charlton County, with 31 in 2016.

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: median daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 7 counties have no value for 2016 and are not ranked.

Median Air Quality Index (US EPA): other rankings

Counties in Georgia: more rankings