U.S. cities with the cleanest air from latest "State of the Air" report

The American Lung Association’s (ALA) recently released 24th annual “State of the Air-2023” report grades Americans’ exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone, air pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term boosts in particle pollution over a three-year period. This year’s report covers 2019-2021.

According to the ALA, the three years covered by “State of the Air 2023” ranked among the seven hottest years on record across the planet. The report explains that “high ozone days and spikes in particle pollution related to heat, drought and wildfires are putting millions of people at risk.” The ALA concludes that these environmental trends are adding challenges to the efforts that states and cities are initiating across the nation to scrub and remove air pollution.

Katherine Pruitt, ALA’s national senior director-policy, offered the following advice for cities on how to keep their community’s air clean:

Pruitt urges city officials to be proud of and celebrate their community’s accomplishments. “Engage community champions that can talk about the important work you are doing for the health and well-being of the residents of your city.”

Yes, air quality affects everyone’s well-being, says Michael Green, M.D., a board-certified OB/GYN living in Lake Arrowhead, Calif., who also works at Winona, a female-founded anti-aging wellness center. “Poor air quality significantly impacts public health. Exposure to pollutants like fine particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide and ozone can cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems, increasing hospitalization and premature death. Improving air quality would directly and positively impact public health outcomes.”

Air that isn’t clean causes a variety of problems. Dr. Green explains: “Poor air quality significantly negatively impacts health at the public and individual levels. Wilmington and Beaches CVBThese health impacts are particularly severe for vulnerable or marginalized populations, such as children, older adults and those with pre-existing health conditions. Air pollution worsens the symptoms of asthma and other respiratory diseases and takes a toll on overall health.”

The doctor notes that air pollution has also been correlated to several other health issues, from stroke and lung cancer to cognitive impairment. “The long-term effects of air pollution exposure are still being researched, but the data already suggests that even low amounts of exposure can harm our health over time.”

Author Paula DiPerna tells American City & County that healthy, breathable air is crucial. “Without clean air, cities become unlivable and centers of decay and despair rather than vibrant hubs of urban existence.” She adds that there are significant hidden costs from air pollution. “The U.S. learned this during the acid rain crisis.”

DiPerna, author of of “Pricing the Priceless: The Financial Transformation to Value the Planet, Solve the Climate Crisis, and Protect Our Most Precious Assets,” explains the importance of clean air: “Good health is priceless, but understanding the value of protecting it is vital to coherent public policy and investment in clean air technologies.” Communities, she notes, are discovering clean air’s impact: “No city can recruit new business, residents, or equitable and modern development without the basic attribute of clean air.” She adds that livability is increasingly a gauge people use to decide where to invest and where to settle.

Clearing the air
Cities and counties have a great deal of interest in air quality, including indoor air quality (IAQ), says Kevin Fahey, director of sales at AtmosAir Solutions, which offers technology to make the indoors healthy, green and smart. “Since the pandemic, local governments are investing in more IAQ solutions and monitoring to provide healthier and cleaner air inside buildings. Some local governments have various funding mechanisms such as grants available for investing in improving indoor air quality in government-owned buildings, transportation facilities, schools and more.”

Fahey’s firm offers products including the Bi-Polar Ionization (BPI) air purification system, which helps to reduce particulates, allergens, bacteria, viruses, mold, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and odors.

“A clean environment is vital to people everywhere and is a basic human right,” says Peyton Siler-Jones, sustainability program director at the National League of Cities (NLC). She adds that cities, towns and villages have a critical role to play in ensuring that local air quality supports healthy, thriving, and resilient communities.

The NLC is an organization made up of city, town and village leaders that are focused on improving the quality of life for their current and future constituents. The NLC has 2,725 member cities across the U.S.

Siler-Jones says clean air is one of the many benefits of transitioning away from fossil fuels and towards a clean energy economy. “By investing in climate action such as efficient and electrified buildings, prioritizing modes of transportation such as walking, biking, and public transit, and reducing local barriers to clean energy deployment, cities are also investing in a community with cleaner air.”

She explains that all the NLC’s climate and sustainability programming offers the benefit of improving air quality. “From our resilient infrastructure programming to our environmental justice technical assistance programming, NLC’s Sustainability Program puts people first by supporting climate action for public health.” The NLC has a current initiative on Building Climate Change Resilience.

The gallery above is based on data in the ALA 24th annual “State of the Air-2023” report. Click through the gallery to see the seven cities that rank on all three cleanest cities lists for particle pollution and ozone. These cities (listed alphabetically) had zero days high in particle pollution or ozone and are among the 25 cities with the lowest year-round particle levels.