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

Counties in Virginia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA)

Hanover County had the highest median Air Quality Index (US EPA) of 41 counties in 1998, at 64. Newport News city had the lowest, at 7. The median was 37. Source: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Highest64Hanover County
Lowest7Newport News city
Median3741 counties

Map of counties, 1998

Arlington County: 45 indexCaroline County: 41 indexCarroll County: 17 indexCharles City County: 42 indexChesterfield County: 50 indexCulpeper County: 15 indexFairfax County: 46 indexFauquier County: 54 indexFrederick County: 51 indexGiles County: 46 indexHanover County: 64 indexHenrico County: 50 indexKing William County: 15 indexLoudoun County: 46 indexMadison County: 50 indexNorthumberland County: 14 indexPrince Edward County: 40 indexPrince William County: 35 indexRoanoke County: 42 indexRockbridge County: 59 indexRockingham County: 26 indexStafford County: 51 indexTazewell County: 16 indexWarren County: 17 indexWise County: 19 indexWythe County: 58 indexAlexandria city: 46 indexBristol city: 19 indexCharlottesville city: 19 indexChesapeake city: 19 indexCovington city: 19 indexFredericksburg city: 16 indexHampton city: 48 indexLynchburg city: 19 indexMartinsville city: 15 indexNewport News city: 7 indexNorfolk city: 36 indexRichmond city: 37 indexRoanoke city: 14 indexSuffolk city: 51 indexWinchester city: 19 index
  • Under 16
  • 16 to 19
  • 19 to 37
  • 37 to 46
  • 46 to 50
  • 50 and over
  • No data
index, 1998. 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, 1998

Hanover County: 64 indexHanover County64Rockbridge County: 59 indexRockbridge County59Wythe County: 58 indexWythe County58Fauquier County: 54 indexFauquier County54Frederick County: 51 indexFrederick County51Stafford County: 51 indexStafford County51Suffolk city: 51 indexSuffolk city51Chesterfield County: 50 indexChesterfield County50Henrico County: 50 indexHenrico County50Madison County: 50 indexMadison County50Hampton city: 48 indexHampton city48Alexandria city: 46 indexAlexandria city46Fairfax County: 46 indexFairfax County46Giles County: 46 indexGiles County46Loudoun County: 46 indexLoudoun County46Arlington County: 45 indexArlington County45Charles City County: 42 indexCharles City County42Roanoke County: 42 indexRoanoke County42Caroline County: 41 indexCaroline County41Prince Edward County: 40 indexPrince Edward County40Richmond city: 37 indexRichmond city37Norfolk city: 36 indexNorfolk city36Prince William County: 35 indexPrince William County35Rockingham County: 26 indexRockingham County26Bristol city: 19 indexBristol city19Charlottesville city: 19 indexCharlottesville city19Chesapeake city: 19 indexChesapeake city19Covington city: 19 indexCovington city19Lynchburg city: 19 indexLynchburg city19Winchester city: 19 indexWinchester city19Wise County: 19 indexWise County19Carroll County: 17 indexCarroll County17Warren County: 17 indexWarren County17Fredericksburg city: 16 indexFredericksburg city16Tazewell County: 16 indexTazewell County16Culpeper County: 15 indexCulpeper County15King William County: 15 indexKing William County15Martinsville city: 15 indexMartinsville city15Northumberland County: 14 indexNorthumberland County14Roanoke city: 14 indexRoanoke city14Newport News city: 7 indexNewport News city7Hanover County: 64 indexHanover County64Rockbridge County: 59 indexRockbridge County59Wythe County: 58 indexWythe County58Fauquier County: 54 indexFauquier County54Frederick County: 51 indexFrederick County51Stafford County: 51 indexStafford County51Suffolk city: 51 indexSuffolk city51Chesterfield County: 50 indexChesterfield County50Henrico County: 50 indexHenrico County50Madison County: 50 indexMadison County50Hampton city: 48 indexHampton city48Alexandria city: 46 indexAlexandria city46Fairfax County: 46 indexFairfax County46Giles County: 46 indexGiles County46Loudoun County: 46 indexLoudoun County46Arlington County: 45 indexArlington County45Charles City County: 42 indexCharles City County42Roanoke County: 42 indexRoanoke County42Caroline County: 41 indexCaroline County41Prince Edward County: 40 indexPrince Edward County40Richmond city: 37 indexRichmond city37Norfolk city: 36 indexNorfolk city36Prince William County: 35 indexPrince William County35Rockingham County: 26 indexRockingham County26Bristol city: 19 indexBristol city19Charlottesville city: 19 indexCharlottesville city19Chesapeake city: 19 indexChesapeake city19Covington city: 19 indexCovington city19Lynchburg city: 19 indexLynchburg city19Winchester city: 19 indexWinchester city19Wise County: 19 indexWise County19Carroll County: 17 indexCarroll County17Warren County: 17 indexWarren County17Fredericksburg city: 16 indexFredericksburg city16Tazewell County: 16 indexTazewell County16Culpeper County: 15 indexCulpeper County15King William County: 15 indexKing William County15Martinsville city: 15 indexMartinsville city15Northumberland County: 14 indexNorthumberland County14Roanoke city: 14 indexRoanoke city14Newport News city: 7 indexNewport News city7
index. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCounties1998
index		Change on 1997
1Hanover County64+13
2Rockbridge County59+1
3Wythe County58+7
4Fauquier County54+6
5Frederick County51+3
5Stafford County51+3
5Suffolk city51+1
8Chesterfield County500
8Henrico County50+4
8Madison County50+4
11Hampton city48+3
12Alexandria city46+4
12Fairfax County46+2
12Giles County46+2
12Loudoun County46+32
16Arlington County450
17Charles City County42+1
17Roanoke County42+3
19Caroline County41+4
20Prince Edward County40-1
21Richmond city370
22Norfolk city36+1
23Prince William County35+1
24Rockingham County26-1
25Bristol city19+2
25Charlottesville city19+2
25Chesapeake city19+2
25Covington city19-2
25Lynchburg city190
25Winchester city190
25Wise County19+2
32Carroll County17+2
32Warren County17-1
34Fredericksburg city160
34Tazewell County16+3
36Culpeper County15+1
36King William County15+1
36Martinsville city15+1
39Northumberland County14+2
39Roanoke city14-1
41Newport News city7-2

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. 19 counties with data in other periods have no value for 1998 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 Virginia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998) [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 Virginia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998. 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/virginia-counties?period=1998. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI. Counties in Virginia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998. 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/virginia-counties?period=1998.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI, Counties in Virginia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-air-quality-index/virginia-counties?period=1998 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{environmental_counties_in_virginia_by_1998,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: median daily AQI: Counties in Virginia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998}},
  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/virginia-counties?period=1998. 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 Virginia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA), 1998
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/virginia-counties?period=1998
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/median-air-quality-index/virginia-counties?period=1998.
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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Rank Counties in Virginia by median Air Quality Index (US EPA) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"aqi_median","level":"province","within":"Virginia","limit":10}
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Questions

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

Hanover County, with 64 in 1998, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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

Newport News city, with 7 in 1998.

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. 19 counties have no value for 1998 and are not ranked.

Median Air Quality Index (US EPA): other rankings

Counties in Virginia: more rankings