18 Cities With The Best Air Quality in the U.S.

The post-corona locked-down industrial world might be getting its first dose of cleaner air in forever, but the 18 cities with the best air quality in the U.S. don’t need a pandemic to experience a fresh, pollutant-free breeze.

According to the World Health Organization, polluted air contributes to approximately 7 million deaths worldwide annually. Additionally, around 91% of the global population lives in areas that do not meet the WHO standard for clean air.

One of the things that factor most heavily into air quality calculations is PM2.5. PM stands for Particulate Matter, but specifically, those particles that are less than 2.5 microns in diameter. To give you a picture of just how small that is, take a look at your average hair. A “large” PM2.5 particle will be about 30 times smaller than that!

PM2.5 particles can be either solid or liquid, and they can come either from natural or from man-made sources. However, the latter are significantly more responsible for the presence of this particles in the air we breathe. Vehicles and various industrial processes such as those occurring in power plants are prominent sources.

To see the cities that lie on the other end of the spectrum, take a look at our article of the 10 cities with the worst air pollution in the US. Also, in case you’re interested in a few particular places, here’s how the air quality fares in Aguascalientes and in Indiana. You can also use IQAir to obtain specific details for any particular city on a given day along with trends and predictions.

To compile this list, we used the most recent findings published by State of the Air that took into account particle pollution, both year-round and short term levels, along with ozone pollution to determine the cleanest cities or general town or metropolitan areas in terms of air. Their findings report multiple “categories” of cities with the cleanest air, due to different cities ranking well for different factors. We’ve prioritized year-round particle pollution to choose which categories to include in our list, due to the long-term dangerous impact of PM 2.5 that we’ve already outlined above.

Let’s get to our list of the cities with the best air quality in the U.S.!

The first five cities on our list of the cities with the cleanest air in the U.S. rank well for both ozone and year-round particle pollution. We’ve listed them in alphabetical order before beginning our next category.

18. Anchorage, AK

Anchorage, the largest city in Alaska, has a population of approximately 288,000 residents who breathe in some of the cleanest air in the country. Moreover, Anchorage features stunning geography with beautiful snow-capped Chugach Mountains and a coastline with mudflats, the latter of which are perhaps best observed from a distance.

17. Bismarck, ND

The next city on our list is the capital of North Dakota, a much less populous city, with a noticeable number of government buildings. Named after Otto von Bismarck, the powerful German Chancellor who was responsible for unifying Germany a century and a half ago, Bismarck is one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

16. Casper, WY

Casper is the second largest city in Wyoming – after the capital – and has a booming oil industry much like the rest of Wyoming. The state’s nickname as the “Cowboy State” makes a lot of sense for this city, which prominently features cowboy culture. With the North Platte River and a view of the mountains in the distance, this city is a sight for sore eyes.

15. Duluth, MN-WI

Connected with Superior, Wisconsin, Duluth has a population approaching 100,000 and features a gorgeous view of the neighbouring Lake Superior. With the Great Lakes Aquarium and the Aerial Lift Bridge amidst other attractive tourist destinations, Duluth is a great place to visit as well as being a healthy place to live in.

14. Salinas, CA

The home of John Steinbeck and the last city in this category, Salinas is a city of vast green vegetable fields and vineyards (as well as some remarkable literary genius!). Steinbeck, the 1962 Nobel Laureate in Literature, used his hometown Salinas as inspiration for some of his works.

The next nine cities on our list of the cities with the cleanest air in the U.S. rank well for year-round and short-term particle pollution. We’ve listed them in alphabetical order before beginning our third and final category!

13. Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah, WI

This Combined Statistical Area in the state of Wisconsin comprises of three “Fox cities” – so called because they run along the Fox River. Of the three cities, Appleton is the biggest with a population of around 74,000 and functions as the convergence point of the Fox cities, with the Fox Cities Performing Arts Centre, the Fox River Mall, and other similar features.

12. Elmira-Corning, NY

The cities of Elmira and Corning are next on our list of the cities with the best air quality in the U.S. Elmira, with a population of less than 30,000 and Corning with a yet smaller population of approximately 10,000 are small cities with few notable features. Elmira College, the first college granting degrees to women that were equivalent to the ones men received, and Corning incorporated, a Fortune 500 glass and ceramic company, are two note-worthy elements of this low-populated area.

11. Gainesville-Lake City, FL

The presence of the University of Florida in Gainesville, although significant, is not the reason these pair of cities make it to our list. The wonderful trees dominating the Gainesville cityscape has led the National Arbor Day Foundation to declare it the “Tree City” of the country, every year since 1982!

10. Grand Island, NE

The “Cornhusker” state of Nebraska is represented by Grand Island on our list. Grand Island is known for its civic engagement…and for being the hometown of Henry Fonda! The latter’s academy award nominated performance in the 1940 classic “Grapes of Wrath” links this entry to the earlier one of Salinas (number 14 on our list!) by its connection to Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck.

9. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL

This metropolitan area located in Brevard county is located in Florida, with Palm Bay at its principal city. Close to the Turkey River, which in turn flows in the Atlantic Ocean, the area features numerous palm trees which make for a compelling site.

8. Sioux Falls, SD

Sioux Falls is the most populous city in its state, and fortunately for its almost 200,000 person population, the city’s air is wonderfully clean. The city also features over 70 parks and greenways, along with the Sioux river. The picture we’ve inserted below tests the truth of that!

7. Springfield, MA

This historically rich city in Massachusetts has the distinction of being the first “Springfield” established in the New World and as the site of many important innovations, including the first American dictionary and the first American gas-powered automobile. Its location in the Connecticut River Valley perhaps explains the awe-striking geographical diversity that distinguishes the city; from mountains to rivers, it’s a wonderful place to take in some nature along with some lungfuls of clean air!

6. St. George, UT

In striking contrast to our previous entry, the sixth spot on our list of cities with the best air quality in the U.S. is occupied by St. George, a city lying in a valley in the Mojave Desert. Its geographical beauty, however, is most compelling, with parks in the vicinity, natural vegetation, and mountains, amidst others.

5. Syracuse-Auburn, NY

The well-populated Syracuse Auburn statistical area boasts a population of several hundred thousand. With many important educational institutions such as Syracuse University, and natural features like the Onondaga Lake, this area is sprawling and visually diverse; a treat for its inhabitants.

The final four cities on our list of the cities with the cleanest air in the U.S. rank well for all three critical categories as determined by State of the Air: year-round particle pollution, short-term particle pollution, and ozone. In keeping with the rest of our article, here are the cities in alphabetical order:

4. Bangor, ME

One of the most defining features of this architecturally interesting small-sized city is the home of author Stephen King, shown below. With beautiful churches and a garden cemetery, one wouldn’t expect a house to leave much of a mark, but with King’s additions of a hybrid bat and spider themed iron fence, this house is quite a sight.

3. Burlington-South Burlington, VT

The Burlington metropolitan area in Vermont is next on our list, with Burlington as the area’s and the state’s most populous city. Being the first city in the U.S. to run entirely on renewable energy is perhaps the reason it (and other cities in the metropolitan area) boasts such clean air!

2. Urban Honolulu, HI

Of this area, Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, is the most important component. Famous for its “livability” across the world, and one of the safest cities in the U.S., clean air is just another element of why this is such a great place to live in. It claims both geopolitical importance, and is a tourist destination we would go to anyday.

1. Wilmington, NC

The final entry on our list of the cities with the best air quality in the U.S. is from the Old North State of North Carolina. Wilmington, or the port city, is not only an attractive tourist destination, but is also the “Coast Guard City” with various fascinating museums and the setting for notable television series including One Tree Hill. Citizens of Wilmington and from the other three entries in this category are fortunate indeed to be breathing some of the cleanest air in America!