# Counties in North Carolina by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2004

All 50 values come from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for 2004, so the places are comparable. 12 counties have no value for that period and are not ranked.

- Indicator id: `aqi_median`
- Unit: index
- Definition: 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. 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.
- Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI (https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual)
- Publisher page: https://invokely.ai/en/publishers/environmental-protection-agency
- Retrieved: 2026-10-12
- Citation: 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.
- Web page: https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-air-quality-index/north-carolina-counties

| Rank | Place | index |
|---:|---|---:|
| 1 | Mecklenburg County | 64 |
| 2 | Davidson County | 62 |
| 3 | Catawba County | 61 |
| 3 | Forsyth County | 61 |
| 5 | Alamance County | 59 |
| 5 | Gaston County | 59 |
| 5 | Guilford County | 59 |
| 5 | Wake County | 59 |
| 9 | Cabarrus County | 58 |
| 9 | Durham County | 58 |
| 9 | McDowell County | 58 |
| 12 | Orange County | 57 |
| 13 | Buncombe County | 56 |
| 13 | Mitchell County | 56 |
| 13 | Robeson County | 56 |
| 16 | Duplin County | 55 |
| 16 | Wayne County | 55 |
| 18 | Onslow County | 54 |
| 19 | Watauga County | 53 |
| 20 | Haywood County | 52 |
| 21 | Caswell County | 47 |
| 21 | Edgecombe County | 47 |
| 21 | Jackson County | 47 |
| 21 | Pitt County | 47 |
| 21 | Rowan County | 47 |
| 26 | Graham County | 46 |
| 26 | Granville County | 46 |
| 26 | Martin County | 46 |
| 29 | Chatham County | 45 |
| 29 | Lenoir County | 45 |
| 31 | Avery County | 44 |
| 31 | Davie County | 44 |
| 31 | Lincoln County | 44 |
| 31 | Rockingham County | 44 |
| 31 | Swain County | 44 |
| 31 | Yancey County | 44 |
| 37 | Camden County | 43 |
| 37 | Franklin County | 43 |
| 37 | Person County | 43 |
| 37 | Randolph County | 43 |
| 41 | Alexander County | 42 |
| 41 | Cumberland County | 42 |
| 43 | Caldwell County | 41 |
| 43 | Johnston County | 41 |
| 43 | Montgomery County | 41 |
| 43 | Union County | 41 |
| 47 | Carteret County | 37 |
| 47 | New Hanover County | 37 |
| 49 | Macon County | 33 |
| 50 | Henderson County | 17 |