Air Quality Rankings for New York (2026)

Cities Tracked

State Avg AQI

Improving

Worsening

How New York Compares

New York has 29 cities tracked by EPA air-quality monitors, with a state-wide 5-year median AQI of 37 — 4 points cleaner than the national average of AQI 41. Oneida, New York ranks #1 with the cleanest air (AQI 25, Grade B), while Queens, New York sits at the bottom (AQI 46, 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.

New York is on an improving trajectory: 15 of 29 monitored cities show measurably cleaner air over the past decade, against just 6 that are getting worse. That mirrors the broader national pattern of falling particulate and ozone pollution as cleaner vehicles, cleaner power generation, and tighter industrial standards take effect.

The dominant pollutant across 19 of 29 New York 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 York cities report Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) (10) as their dominant concern.

The fastest-improving city in New York is New York, New York, with median AQI falling by 1.2 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 Franklin, New York, where median AQI is rising by 1.2 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 York Ranking

#	City	5yr Avg AQI	Current AQI	Worst Pollutant	Trend	Grade
1	Oneida, New York	25	32	PM2.5	Improving	B
2	Herkimer, New York	29	29	Ozone	Improving	B
3	Nassau, New York	30	31	PM2.5	Improving	B
4	Franklin, New York	31	31	Ozone	Worsening	C
5	Saratoga, New York	32	31	Ozone	Stable	B
6	Jefferson, New York	33	33	Ozone	Stable	B
7	Oswego, New York	33	33	Ozone	Stable	B
8	Wayne, New York	34	33	Ozone	Stable	B
9	Hamilton, New York	34	33	Ozone	Stable	B
10	Putnam, New York	34	32	Ozone	Stable	B
11	Dutchess, New York	34	33	Ozone	Stable	B
12	Niagara, New York	34	33	Ozone	Improving	B
13	Tompkins, New York	35	35	Ozone	Stable	B
14	Chautauqua, New York	37	37	Ozone	Stable	B
15	Orange, New York	37	34	Ozone	Improving	B
16	Rockland, New York	38	38	Ozone	Improving	B
17	Steuben, New York	38	40	Ozone	Worsening	C
18	Westchester, New York	38	39	Ozone	Improving	B
19	Onondaga, New York	38	40	Ozone	Worsening	C
20	Kings, New York	39	46	PM2.5	Worsening	C
21	Albany, New York	41	42	PM2.5	Stable	C
22	Essex, New York	41	42	Ozone	Stable	C
23	Richmond, New York	41	42	PM2.5	Improving	B
24	Monroe, New York	42	42	PM2.5	Stable	C
25	Suffolk, New York	42	41	Ozone	Improving	C
26	New York, New York	44	48	PM2.5	Improving	B
27	Erie, New York	44	48	PM2.5	Improving	B
28	Bronx, New York	46	47	PM2.5	Improving	C
29	Queens, New York	46	50	PM2.5	Stable	C

Air quality data for New York 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

Oneida, New York has the best air quality in New York with a 5-year average AQI of 25 and a Grade B (75/100). Its dominant pollutant is Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and the long-run trend is improving.

Queens, New York has the worst air quality in New York with a 5-year average AQI of 46 and a Grade C (58/100). Its dominant pollutant is Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5).

New York has 29 cities with EPA air quality monitoring data, covering 2014-2023 of daily AQI measurements aggregated into annual averages.

New York's state-wide 5-year median AQI is 37, 4 points cleaner than the national average of AQI 41. New York is on an improving trajectory: 15 of 29 monitored cities show measurably cleaner air over the past decade, against just 6 that are getting worse. That mirrors the broader national pattern of falling particulate and ozone pollution as cleaner vehicles, cleaner power generation, and tighter industrial standards take effect.

Ground-Level Ozone is the dominant pollutant in 19 of 29 monitored New York 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 York cities log an average of 2 days per year at "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" or worse, based on EPA monitor data over the last five years. Across all 29 New York cities tracked, that totals 282 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 New York →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.