Air Quality Rankings for Florida (2026)

Cities Tracked

State Avg AQI

Improving

Worsening

How Florida Compares

Florida has 39 cities tracked by EPA air-quality monitors, with a state-wide 5-year median AQI of 41 — roughly matching the national average of AQI 41. Putnam, Florida ranks #1 with the cleanest air (AQI 16, Grade B), while Duval, Florida sits at the bottom (AQI 52, Grade C). The rankings below are computed from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), which aggregates daily AQI readings from federally certified monitors into annual averages. Cities are sorted by 5-year median AQI (lowest = cleanest = #1). The 5-year window smooths out year-to-year volatility from weather and wildfire events.

Florida is bucking the national trend of broad improvement: 21 of 39 monitored cities show measurably worse air over the past decade, more than the 11 that are improving. Across western states this usually traces back to expanding wildfire smoke exposure; elsewhere it can reflect rising local emissions from population or freight growth.

The dominant pollutant across 25 of 39 Florida cities is Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5). PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) is most often driven by combustion sources — vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, residential wood burning, and increasingly wildfire smoke. It penetrates deep into lung tissue and the bloodstream and is the air pollutant most strongly linked to long-term health impacts. Other Florida cities report Ground-Level Ozone (13), Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) (1) as their dominant concern.

The fastest-improving city in Florida is Orange, Florida, with median AQI falling by 1.0 points per year. Steady improvement at that pace usually reflects fleet turnover (older diesels retiring), upwind power-plant retirements, or tighter regional emissions controls.

The city with the steepest decline is Baker, Florida, where median AQI is rising by 1.4 points per year. Rapid deterioration in a single city usually points to either wildfire-smoke exposure (in the West) or a new local emissions source — a power plant, port, or freight corridor coming online.

Full Florida Ranking

#	City	5yr Avg AQI	Current AQI	Worst Pollutant	Trend	Grade
1	Putnam, Florida	16	17	PM10	Worsening	B
2	Liberty, Florida	32	33	Ozone	Stable	B
3	Flagler, Florida	33	35	Ozone	Stable	B
4	Highlands, Florida	34	35	Ozone	Stable	B
5	St. Lucie, Florida	34	35	Ozone	Stable	B
6	Manatee, Florida	34	35	Ozone	Stable	B
7	Osceola, Florida	34	36	Ozone	Stable	B
8	Lake, Florida	35	37	Ozone	Stable	B
9	Indian River, Florida	35	34	Ozone	Improving	B
10	Okaloosa, Florida	36	37	Ozone	Stable	B
11	Pasco, Florida	36	39	Ozone	Stable	B
12	Orange, Florida	38	43	Ozone	Improving	B
13	Lee, Florida	39	35	PM2.5	Improving	B
14	Alachua, Florida	40	40	PM2.5	Stable	B
15	Baker, Florida	40	43	Ozone	Worsening	C
16	Wakulla, Florida	40	39	PM2.5	Stable	C
17	Seminole, Florida	41	40	Ozone	Worsening	C
18	Collier, Florida	41	43	PM2.5	Stable	C
19	Nassau, Florida	42	42	PM2.5	Improving	B
20	Palm Beach, Florida	42	43	PM2.5	Stable	B
21	Martin, Florida	42	41	PM2.5	Stable	C
22	Brevard, Florida	43	43	PM2.5	Worsening	C
23	Polk, Florida	43	42	PM2.5	Improving	B
24	Citrus, Florida	43	45	PM2.5	Worsening	C
25	Marion, Florida	44	45	PM2.5	Stable	C
26	Volusia, Florida	44	44	PM2.5	Worsening	C
27	Sarasota, Florida	45	47	PM2.5	Stable	B
28	Columbia, Florida	45	47	PM2.5	Worsening	C
29	Santa Rosa, Florida	45	47	PM2.5	Stable	C
30	Miami-Dade, Florida	45	48	PM2.5	Improving	B
31	Hamilton, Florida	46	46	PM2.5	Stable	C
32	Pinellas, Florida	47	47	PM2.5	Stable	C
33	Bay, Florida	47	51	PM2.5	Worsening	C
34	Leon, Florida	47	47	PM2.5	Improving	B
35	Holmes, Florida	48	49	PM2.5	Worsening	C
36	Escambia, Florida	49	51	PM2.5	Worsening	C
37	Broward, Florida	49	52	PM2.5	Worsening	C
38	Hillsborough, Florida	51	51	PM2.5	Stable	C
39	Duval, Florida	52	52	PM2.5	Worsening	C

Air quality data for Florida is sourced from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), which monitors outdoor air quality at thousands of stations nationwide.
, EPA Air Quality System

Frequently Asked Questions

Putnam, Florida has the best air quality in Florida with a 5-year average AQI of 16 and a Grade B (76/100). Its dominant pollutant is Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) and the long-run trend is worsening.

Duval, Florida has the worst air quality in Florida with a 5-year average AQI of 52 and a Grade C (54/100). Its dominant pollutant is Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5).

Florida has 39 cities with EPA air quality monitoring data, covering 2014-2023 of daily AQI measurements aggregated into annual averages.

Florida's state-wide 5-year median AQI is 41, roughly matching the national average of AQI 41. Florida is bucking the national trend of broad improvement: 21 of 39 monitored cities show measurably worse air over the past decade, more than the 11 that are improving. Across western states this usually traces back to expanding wildfire smoke exposure; elsewhere it can reflect rising local emissions from population or freight growth.

Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) is the dominant pollutant in 25 of 39 monitored Florida cities. PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) is most often driven by combustion sources — vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions, residential wood burning, and increasingly wildfire smoke. It penetrates deep into lung tissue and the bloodstream and is the air pollutant most strongly linked to long-term health impacts.

Florida cities log an average of 0 days per year at "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" or worse, based on EPA monitor data over the last five years. Across all 39 Florida cities tracked, that totals 89 unhealthy days over the period.

Sources: EPA Air Quality System (AQS)

Cities ranked by 5-year average AQI (lower is better). Grades factor in average AQI, trend direction, unhealthy days, and dominant pollutant.

Cleanest Cities Nationwide →All Air Quality in Florida →Worst Air Quality Cities →Methodology →

The this entity category groups every U.S. air quality and pollution monitoring entity sharing this attribute. The list above is the data; the paragraphs below explain what the grouping means against the broader the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) distribution and how to read the relative rankings within the category.

For readers using this category as a starting point, the per-entity detail pages linked from the table above carry the underlying the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) data in full. The category-level view is the filter; the per-entity pages are the actual answer.

Source: EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data, 2026.