Cleanest Cities

Santa Fe, NM was the only metropolitan areas landing on all three of the cleanest cities lists during 2008-2010.1

Seven cities ranked on the cleanest for both ozone and short-term particle pollution:

  • Brownsville, TX
  • Champaign, IL
  • Decatur, IL
  • Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL
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  • Monroe, LA
  • Peoria, IL
  • Springfield, IL
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Five cities were on the cleanest cities for both ozone and year-round particle pollution:

  • Bismarck, ND
  • Duluth, MN-WI
  • Honolulu, HI
    •
  • Port S. Lucie-Sebastian-Vero Beach, FL
  • Rapid City, SD
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Fifteen cities ranked as the cleanest for both measures of particle pollution:

  • Albuquerque, NM
  • Bangor, ME
  • Burlington, VT
  • Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
  • Cheyenne, WY
  • Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT
  • Colorado Springs, CO
  • Flagstaff, AZ
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  • Fort Collins-Loveland, CO
  • Gainesville, FL
  • Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
  • Prescott, AZ;
  • Salinas, CA
  • Sarasota, FL
  • Tucson, AZ
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» List of the Cleanest U.S. Cities

  1. Full names for all these metropolitan areas can be found in the tables showing the cleanest cities. The full metropolitan areas often include multiple counties, incorporated cities and counties in adjacent states.

FACT: State of the Air 2012 shows that air quality improved during 2008-2010 across the nation. However, air quality in some areas actually worsened compared to the 2011 report, highlighting the need for continued vigilance.

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