The American Lung Association released its 25th annual State of the Air report last month, and it paints a pretty bleak picture of California. According to the ALA, 8 out of 10 Californians live in places with poor air quality. California is also home to 10 out of the top 25 most polluted cities in the nation for ozone pollution (defined here). For particle pollution like wildfire smoke, eight of the 25 most polluted cities are in the Golden State.
Out of 45 counties in California with reliable data, 41 received a “failing” grade for exposure to short-term particle pollutants.
Below are rankings of California’s most polluted cities by category. They’re based on data from the Environmental Protection Agency for the years 2020-2022.
California's Most Polluted Cities by Ozone
- Los Angeles-Long Beach (#1 nationally)
- Visalia (#2 nationally)
- Bakersfield (#3 nationally)
- Fresno-Madera-Hanford (#4 nationally)
- Sacramento-Roseville (#7 nationally)
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad (#8 nationally)
- San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland (#12 nationally)
- El Centro (#18 nationally)
- Redding-Red Bluff (#22 nationally)
- San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles (#23 nationally)
California's Most Polluted Cities by Year-Round Particle Pollution
- Bakersfield (#1 nationally)
- Visalia (#2 nationally)
- Fresno-Madera-Hanford (#3 nationally)
- San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland (#5 nationally)
- Los Angeles-Long Beach (#6 nationally)
- Sacramento-Roseville (#7 nationally)
- Chico (#14 nationally)
- El Centro (#17 nationally)
Read the full report here.