Cleanest Places to Live

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Many cities in the U.S. enjoy air that is considered clean for one or more of the pollution measures tracked in “State of the Air.” In this year’s report, 64 of the cities for which there is monitoring data had zero high ozone days and 80 cities had zero high short-term particle days (32 fewer than last year). Because year-round particle pollution is scored differently, the cleanest cities for this measure can be ranked. As a result of ties for the 25th best metro area, there are 31 cities on this year’s list. See Data Tables 3a-c.

Ten cities rank on all three cleanest cities lists for particle pollution and ozone. They had zero days high in particle pollution or ozone and are among the 31 cities with the lowest year-round particle levels. Added to the list this year are Bangor, Maine (returning after a one-year break due to incomplete data); and Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and Virginia Beach, Virginia. Lincoln, Nebraska; and Elmira, NY returned after coming onto the list last year. The other three again repeat their appearance on this list.  

Listed alphabetically, these cities are: 

  • Bangor, ME 
  • Burlington-South Burlington-Barre, VT 
  • Charlottesville, VA 
  • Elmira-Corning, NY 
  • Harrisonburg-Staunton, VA 
  • Lincoln-Beatrice, NE 
  • Roanoke, VA 
  • Urban Honolulu, HI 
  • Virginia Beach-Norfolk, VA-NC 
  • Wilmington, NC

Did You Know?

  1. More than four in ten Americans live where the air they breathe earned an F in “State of the Air” 2022.
  2. More than 137 million people live in counties that received an F for either ozone or particle pollution in “State of the Air” 2022.
  3. Close to 19.8 million people live in counties that got an F for all three air pollution measures in “State of the Air” 2022.
  4. Breathing ozone irritates the lungs, resulting in inflammation—as if there were a bad sunburn within the lungs.
  5. Breathing in particle pollution can increase the risk of lung cancer.
  6. Particle pollution can cause early death and heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits.
  7. Particles in air pollution can be smaller than 1/30th the diameter of a human hair. When you inhale them, they are small enough to get past the body's natural defenses.
  8. Ozone and particle pollution are both linked to increased risk of lower birth weight in newborns.
  9. If you live or work near a busy highway, traffic pollution may put you at greater risk of harm.
  10. People who work or exercise outside face increased risk from the effects of air pollution.
  11. Millions of people are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, including children, older adults and people with lung diseases such as asthma.
  12. People of color and those earning lower incomes are disproportionately affected by air pollution that puts them at higher risk for illness.
  13. Air pollution is a serious health threat. It can trigger asthma attacks, harm lung development in children, and even be deadly.
  14. You can protect yourself by checking the air quality forecasts in your community and avoiding exercising or working outdoors when unhealthy air is expected.
  15. Climate change enhances conditions for ozone pollution to form and makes it harder clean up communities where ozone levels are high.
  16. Climate change increases the risk of wildfires that spread particle pollution in the smoke.
  17. The Biden Administration has made bold commitments to improve air quality, especially in communities that have faced disproportionate levels of pollution. The Lung Association is advocating to make sure they are realized.
  18. The nation has the Clean Air Act to thank for decades of improvements in air quality. This landmark law has driven pollution reduction for 50 years.
  19. Cutting air pollution through the Clean Air Act was projected to prevent over 230,000 deaths and save nearly $2 trillion in 2020 alone.
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