About 44% of Americans — 152.3 million people — live in places that receive failing grades for air quality.While that is a slight improvement from last year’s report, overall air quality is still worsening, according to data from the American Lung Association. “Far too many people are still breathing air pollution,” said Diana Van Vleet, director of clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association.The decline in air quality is largely due to extreme heat and more frequent and intense wildfires, according to the 2026 State of the Air Report. What’s in the air?There are two main types of air pollution that the report examines: ozone pollution and particle pollution. Ozone pollution is similar to getting a sunburn on the lungs. Particle pollution is when there are little bits of pollutants in the air that people should not be breathing, like soot, dust or smoke.The 2026 State of the Air Report covers data from 2022 to 2024, the most recent years available.During that time, ozone pollution worsened, while particle pollution got slightly better. “This year’s report didn’t include data from 2021, and 2021 was a particularly bad year for wildfires,” Van Vleet said. “I think that’s part of the reason that we saw a slight improvement in our particle pollution grades this year.”Are you breathing unhealthy air?Air quality data is only known for 926 counties in the U.S., including Puerto Rico. In the other 2,295 counties or equivalents, there are no air quality monitors in place.The Environmental Protection Agency and states decide where monitors go. Despite many counties missing monitors, 79% of the U.S. population lives in an area with an air quality monitor.Only one place in America made the cleanest city list across all measures of air pollution that the State of the Air Report examines. So, congratulations to the residents of Bangor, Maine. Last year, two metro areas made the list, and in past years, there have been about six. Children are particularly at riskThe latest report found that nearly half of the nation’s children are living in areas with a failing grade for at least one air pollution measure.America’s youth are particularly vulnerable to air pollution. Children breathe more air for their body size than adults, and they tend to spend more time outside. Air pollution can impede lung growth, cause new cases of asthma and put children at an increased risk for respiratory disease and infections later in life.Beyond children, the report reinforces prior findings that communities of color are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy air.People of color are more than twice as likely to live in an area with a failing air pollution grade across all the pollution measures compared to white people, the report found. Other research has pointed to disparities from decades of systemic racism and housing policies that pushed people of color toward urban areas and pollution sources. How to stay safeBefore going outside, you can monitor air quality in your area by checking airnow.gov. To learn more about current and historic air quality in your county, search in the table below. In the futureExperts warn that as climate change continues to impact the country and as the EPA rolls back clean air protections, air quality will likely keep getting worse.“We do anticipate that is going to harm the air quality moving forward,” Van Vleet said.The data center boom, Van Vleet said, is also harming air quality, although it’s too soon to measure the exact impact. Data centers require a lot of energy. That energy comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which causes air pollution, and their backup generators are powered by diesel.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4=
About 44% of Americans — 152.3 million people — live in places that receive failing grades for air quality.
While that is a slight improvement from last year’s report, overall air quality is still worsening, according to data from the American Lung Association.
“Far too many people are still breathing air pollution,” said Diana Van Vleet, director of clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association.
The decline in air quality is largely due to extreme heat and more frequent and intense wildfires, according to the 2026 State of the Air Report.
What’s in the air?
There are two main types of air pollution that the report examines: ozone pollution and particle pollution.
Ozone pollution is similar to getting a sunburn on the lungs. Particle pollution is when there are little bits of pollutants in the air that people should not be breathing, like soot, dust or smoke.
The 2026 State of the Air Report covers data from 2022 to 2024, the most recent years available.
During that time, ozone pollution worsened, while particle pollution got slightly better.
“This year’s report didn’t include data from 2021, and 2021 was a particularly bad year for wildfires,” Van Vleet said. “I think that’s part of the reason that we saw a slight improvement in our particle pollution grades this year.”
Are you breathing unhealthy air?
Air quality data is only known for 926 counties in the U.S., including Puerto Rico. In the other 2,295 counties or equivalents, there are no air quality monitors in place.
The Environmental Protection Agency and states decide where monitors go. Despite many counties missing monitors, 79% of the U.S. population lives in an area with an air quality monitor.
Only one place in America made the cleanest city list across all measures of air pollution that the State of the Air Report examines. So, congratulations to the residents of Bangor, Maine.
Last year, two metro areas made the list, and in past years, there have been about six.
Children are particularly at risk
The latest report found that nearly half of the nation’s children are living in areas with a failing grade for at least one air pollution measure.
America’s youth are particularly vulnerable to air pollution. Children breathe more air for their body size than adults, and they tend to spend more time outside.
Air pollution can impede lung growth, cause new cases of asthma and put children at an increased risk for respiratory disease and infections later in life.
Beyond children, the report reinforces prior findings that communities of color are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy air.
People of color are more than twice as likely to live in an area with a failing air pollution grade across all the pollution measures compared to white people, the report found. Other research has pointed to disparities from decades of systemic racism and housing policies that pushed people of color toward urban areas and pollution sources.
How to stay safe
Before going outside, you can monitor air quality in your area by checking airnow.gov.
To learn more about current and historic air quality in your county, search in the table below.
In the future
Experts warn that as climate change continues to impact the country and as the EPA rolls back clean air protections, air quality will likely keep getting worse.
“We do anticipate that [the rolling back of EPA protections] is going to harm the air quality moving forward,” Van Vleet said.
The data center boom, Van Vleet said, is also harming air quality, although it’s too soon to measure the exact impact.
Data centers require a lot of energy. That energy comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which causes air pollution, and their backup generators are powered by diesel.
