The top 10 Asthma Capitals for 2023

September is Asthma Peak Month thanks to ragweed pollen peaking, higher mold counts, the start of cold and flu season, and kids headed back to school. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has released its 2023 Asthma Capitals report, which analyses data from the 100 most populated cities and reveals the most challenging places in the continental United States to live with asthma.

AAFA’s annual report uses three health outcomes to establish a ranking for each city—asthma prevalence, emergency department visits for asthma, and deaths due to asthma. Other risk factors that contribute to these outcomes are poverty, air quality, access to specialist medical care, pollen allergy, medicine use, tobacco policies and lack of health insurance.

“This report highlights the major risk factors for those who have asthma,” AAFA President and CEO Kenneth Mendez said in a statement. “AAFA’s Asthma Capitals report offers insight into how poverty, uninsured rates and air quality impact the quality of life for the 27 million people in the United States living with asthma. Understanding where these risk factors are hitting folks the hardest can help us develop long-term solutions.”

To that end, this year’s report also includes sections on reducing health disparities in communities that bear the heaviest burden of asthma; ways to take steps to improve asthma outcomes; and taking action through advocacy and policy.

Click through the gallery above to see the 10 most challenging cities to live in with asthma for 2023. The full report is available here.