Counties in Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI)

Jefferson County had the highest share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI) of 37 counties in 2001, at 14.2%. Whitley County had the lowest, at 0%. The median was 5.3%. Source: EPA.

Highest14.2Jefferson County

Lowest0Whitley County

Median5.337 counties

Map of counties, 2001

Under 2.8
2.8 to 4.1
4.1 to 5.3
5.3 to 6.6
6.6 to 9.3
9.3 and over
No data

%, 2001. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: Invokely calculation with data from EPA. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All counties, 2001

%. Source: Invokely calculation with data from EPA. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

Rank	Counties	2001 (%)	Change on 2000
1	Jefferson County	14.2	+2.7 pts
2	Greenup County	13.2	+8.6 pts
3	Muhlenberg County	12.2	n/a
4	Oldham County	11.6	+3.6 pts
5	Livingston County	10.9	-1.6 pts
6	Bullitt County	10.6	+3.4 pts
7	Christian County	9.3	-2 pts
8	Hardin County	8.5	+3.5 pts
9	McLean County	8.4	+3.7 pts
10	Simpson County	7.9	-1.9 pts
11	Hancock County	7.2	+0.9 pts
12	Campbell County	7.1	+1.3 pts
13	Boyd County	6.6	+2 pts
14	Bell County	6.4	-3.7 pts
15	Kenton County	5.8	+0.3 pts
15	Trigg County	5.8	-2.5 pts
17	Washington County	5.5	-2.6 pts
18	Carter County	5.3	+0.9 pts
18	Pulaski County	5.3	-4.2 pts
20	Warren County	5.2	-1.1 pts
21	Edmonson County	5	-1.4 pts
22	Boone County	4.9	+0.4 pts
23	Henderson County	4.7	-1.6 pts
24	McCracken County	4.1	-2.7 pts
24	Morgan County	4.1	-2.3 pts
26	Pike County	3.9	-0.2 pts
27	Perry County	3.8	+0.4 pts
28	Fayette County	3.6	+0.9 pts
29	Jessamine County	3.3	-0.9 pts
30	Daviess County	3	-1.1 pts
31	Franklin County	2.8	+0.2 pts
32	Graves County	2.5	-4.5 pts
33	Madison County	0.9	-0.8 pts
34	Harlan County	0	-1.7 pts
34	Marshall County	0	0 pts
34	Scott County	0	-1.8 pts
34	Whitley County	0	0 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Days with a daily Air Quality Index above 100 (unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy or hazardous) as a percentage of the days of the year with an AQI in a US county. Calculated by Invokely from the day counts in the EPA AirData annual summaries; the counts are stored with each value.

Use the share rather than the number of days to compare counties, since the days with an AQI differ. 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 2001 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: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. 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: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts (Counties in Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI), 2001) [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: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts, Counties in Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI), 2001. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 July 2026, https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unhealthy-air-quality-days-share/kentucky-counties?period=2001. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. Counties in Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI), 2001. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unhealthy-air-quality-days-share/kentucky-counties?period=2001.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts, Counties in Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI), 2001 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/unhealthy-air-quality-days-share/kentucky-counties?period=2001 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_counties_in_kentucky_by_2001,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts: Counties in Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI), 2001}},
  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/unhealthy-air-quality-days-share/kentucky-counties?period=2001. Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. 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: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts: Counties in Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI), 2001
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/unhealthy-air-quality-days-share/kentucky-counties?period=2001
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/unhealthy-air-quality-days-share/kentucky-counties?period=2001.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. 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.

Embed code

<iframe src="https://invokely.ai/embed/rankings/unhealthy-air-quality-days-share/kentucky-counties?period=2001" width="760" height="500" title="Counties in Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI), 2001, chart from Invokely" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>

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 Kentucky by share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI) using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"aqi_unhealthy_sensitive_or_worse_days_share","level":"province","within":"Kentucky","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=aqi_unhealthy_sensitive_or_worse_days_share&level=province&within=Kentucky&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 share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI)?

Jefferson County, with 14.2% in 2001, according to EPA.

Which county has the lowest share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI)?

Whitley County, with 0% in 2001.

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: days with an AQI above 100 as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 18 counties have no value for 2001 and are not ranked.