Air Quality Rankings for New Mexico (2026)
New Mexico has 16 cities tracked by EPA air-quality monitors, with a state-wide 5-year median AQI of 34 — 7 points cleaner than the national average of AQI 41. Catron, New Mexico ranks #1 with the cleanest air (AQI 13, Grade B), while Bernalillo, New Mexico sits at the bottom (AQI 59, Grade D).
How New Mexico Compares
New Mexico has 16 cities tracked by EPA air-quality monitors, with a state-wide 5-year median AQI of 34 — 7 points cleaner than the national average of AQI 41. Catron, New Mexico ranks #1 with the cleanest air (AQI 13, Grade B), while Bernalillo, New Mexico sits at the bottom (AQI 59, Grade D). 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.
New Mexico is bucking the national trend of broad improvement: 7 of 16 monitored cities show measurably worse air over the past decade, more than the 5 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 9 of 16 New Mexico cities is Ground-Level Ozone. Ground-level ozone forms when sunlight reacts with vehicle and industrial emissions. It is worst on hot, sunny, stagnant summer days and is the leading air quality concern across much of the Sun Belt and California. Other New Mexico cities report Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) (6), Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) (1) as their dominant concern.
The fastest-improving city in New Mexico is Luna, New Mexico, with median AQI falling by 1.4 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 Bernalillo, New Mexico, where median AQI is rising by 1.3 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 New Mexico Ranking
| # | City | 5yr Avg AQI | Current AQI | Worst Pollutant | Trend | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Catron, New Mexico | 13 | 13 | PM2.5 | Stable | B |
| 2 | Los Alamos, New Mexico | 13 | 14 | PM2.5 | Stable | B |
| 3 | Lincoln, New Mexico | 14 | 14 | PM2.5 | Stable | B |
| 4 | Socorro, New Mexico | 15 | 14 | PM2.5 | Stable | B |
| 5 | Luna, New Mexico | 17 | 16 | PM10 | Improving | A |
| 6 | Taos, New Mexico | 23 | 20 | PM2.5 | Worsening | B |
| 7 | Chaves, New Mexico | 24 | 24 | PM2.5 | Stable | B |
| 8 | Rio Arriba, New Mexico | 43 | 43 | Ozone | Stable | B |
| 9 | Valencia, New Mexico | 43 | 42 | Ozone | Stable | B |
| 10 | Sandoval, New Mexico | 44 | 44 | Ozone | Worsening | C |
| 11 | Santa Fe, New Mexico | 44 | 44 | Ozone | Stable | C |
| 12 | Lea, New Mexico | 44 | 45 | Ozone | Stable | C |
| 13 | San Juan, New Mexico | 46 | 46 | Ozone | Stable | C |
| 14 | Eddy, New Mexico | 47 | 49 | Ozone | Worsening | D |
| 15 | Dona Ana, New Mexico | 54 | 52 | Ozone | Stable | D |
| 16 | Bernalillo, New Mexico | 59 | 59 | Ozone | Worsening | D |
Air quality data for New Mexico is sourced from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), which monitors outdoor air quality at thousands of stations nationwide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Catron, New Mexico has the best air quality in New Mexico with a 5-year average AQI of 13 and a Grade B (77/100). Its dominant pollutant is Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and the long-run trend is stable.
Bernalillo, New Mexico has the worst air quality in New Mexico with a 5-year average AQI of 59 and a Grade D (41/100). Its dominant pollutant is Ground-Level Ozone.
New Mexico has 16 cities with EPA air quality monitoring data, covering 2014-2023 of daily AQI measurements aggregated into annual averages.
New Mexico's state-wide 5-year median AQI is 34, 7 points cleaner than the national average of AQI 41. New Mexico is bucking the national trend of broad improvement: 7 of 16 monitored cities show measurably worse air over the past decade, more than the 5 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.
Ground-Level Ozone is the dominant pollutant in 9 of 16 monitored New Mexico cities. Ground-level ozone forms when sunlight reacts with vehicle and industrial emissions. It is worst on hot, sunny, stagnant summer days and is the leading air quality concern across much of the Sun Belt and California.
New Mexico cities log an average of 5 days per year at "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" or worse, based on EPA monitor data over the last five years. Across all 16 New Mexico cities tracked, that totals 380 unhealthy days over the period.
Cities ranked by 5-year average AQI (lower is better). Grades factor in average AQI, trend direction, unhealthy days, and dominant pollutant.
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.