Bakersfield, California Has the Dirtiest Air Right Now of Any Big City in America (2026)

Name: Cleanest air right now by city, The Honest Local
Creator: The Honest Local
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bakersfield, California has the dirtiest air right now of the 105 US cities we rank, with an AQI of 129 (AirNow, Oct 4, 2026). Fresno, California is next, with an AQI of 115.

By The Honest Local · 105 cities · every value links to its public source

129Bakersfield, California leads on the list, the highest reading of 105 citiesThe air quality index at this moment, straight from the tape.

National Parks Near Bakersfield — **Bakersfield, California**, No. 1 of 105.

The top five cities AQI right now

No. 1Bakersfield, California129AQI right now
No. 2Fresno, California115AQI right now
No. 3San Jose, California112AQI right now
No. 4Denver, Colorado100AQI right now
No. 5San Diego, California90AQI right now

Dirtiest Air Right Now by City on the map

Air Right Now, cities hover for the numbers, click for every one

Loading the numbers…

How the air is right now, cleanest first.

Dirtiest Air Right Now by City, all 105

The full ranking AQI right now

	Place	AQI right now
1	Bakersfield, Californiabig city	129
2	Fresno, Californiabig city	115
3	San Jose, Californiabig city	112
4	Denver, Coloradobig city	100
5	San Diego, Californiabig city	90
5	Stockton, Californiabig city	90
7	Little Rock, Arkansas	77
7	Oxnard, California	77
9	Colorado Springs, Coloradobig city	71
10	Los Angeles, Californiabig city	67
11	Riverside, Californiabig city	64
12	Salt Lake City, Utah	61
13	Seattle, Washingtonbig city	59
14	Sacramento, Californiabig city	58
15	Boise, Idaho	54
15	Grand Rapids, Michigan	54
17	Detroit, Michiganbig city	53
17	El Paso, Texasbig city	53
19	Akron, Ohio	52
19	Houston, Texasbig city	52
19	Kansas City, Missouribig city	52
19	Portland, Oregonbig city	52
19	Vancouver, Washington	52
24	Indianapolis, Indianabig city	51
24	Las Vegas, Nevadabig city	51
26	Tucson, Arizonabig city	50
27	Columbus, Ohiobig city	49
28	Ogden, Utah	48
28	Phoenix, Arizonabig city	48
30	Dallas, Texasbig city	47
31	New York, New Yorkbig city	46
31	Reno, Nevadabig city	46
31	Toledo, Ohiobig city	46
34	Atlanta, Georgiabig city	45
34	Cincinnati, Ohiobig city	45
36	Albuquerque, New Mexicobig city	44
36	Fayetteville, Arkansas	44
36	Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniabig city	44
36	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaniabig city	44
36	Tulsa, Oklahomabig city	44
41	Louisville, Kentuckybig city	43
41	Provo, Utah	43
41	San Francisco, Californiabig city	43
41	St. Louis, Missouribig city	43
45	Cleveland, Ohiobig city	41
46	Chattanooga, Tennessee	40
46	Dayton, Ohio	40
46	Memphis, Tennesseebig city	40
49	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	39
49	Wichita, Kansasbig city	39
51	Chicago, Illinoisbig city	38
51	Oklahoma City, Oklahomabig city	38
51	Spokane, Washington	38
54	Nashville, Tennesseebig city	36
55	Jackson, Mississippi	35
56	Madison, Wisconsinbig city	34
56	McAllen, Texas	34
56	Milwaukee, Wisconsinbig city	34
56	Omaha, Nebraskabig city	34
60	Des Moines, Iowa	33
60	Minneapolis, Minnesotabig city	33
60	Providence, Rhode Island	33
63	Buffalo, New Yorkbig city	32
63	Miami, Floridabig city	32
65	Worcester, Massachusetts	31
66	Boston, Massachusettsbig city	30
66	Hartford, Connecticut	30
66	New Haven, Connecticut	30
66	Tampa, Floridabig city	30
70	Allentown, Pennsylvania	29
70	Columbia, South Carolina	29
70	Huntsville, Alabama	29
70	Knoxville, Tennessee	29
74	Charleston, South Carolina	28
75	Bridgeport, Connecticut	27
75	Syracuse, New York	27
75	Virginia Beach, Virginiabig city	27
78	Augusta, Georgia	26
78	Birmingham, Alabama	26
78	San Antonio, Texasbig city	26
78	Sarasota, Florida	26
82	Jacksonville, Floridabig city	25
83	Baltimore, Marylandbig city	24
83	New Orleans, Louisianabig city	24
83	Washington, DCbig city	24
86	Austin, Texasbig city	23
86	Lakeland, Florida	23
86	Savannah, Georgia	23
89	Albany, New York	22
89	Cape Coral, Florida	22
89	Durham, North Carolinabig city	22
89	Orlando, Floridabig city	22
89	Portland, Maine	22
94	Poughkeepsie, New York	21
94	Richmond, Virginia	21
96	Charlotte, North Carolinabig city	20
97	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	19
97	Daytona Beach, Florida	19
97	Greensboro, North Carolinabig city	19
97	Greenville, South Carolina	19
97	Winston-Salem, North Carolinabig city	19
102	Honolulu, Hawaiibig city	18
102	Melbourne, Florida	18
104	Asheville, North Carolina	16
104	Raleigh, North Carolinabig city	16

Sources and method

AirNow · 10/04/26

How we got this. Right now air is the EPA's Air Quality Index for each city's reporting area, from AirNow's public feed, refreshed every hour. Cities rank from cleanest to dirtiest at this moment. There's no state list here, since a whole state's current air isn't one honest number and we won't invent one. It refreshes every hour.

Rankings by The Honest Local from public data, one page per list, refreshed on each source’s own cycle. Places with no reading are left out rather than estimated. Every value on this page carries its source in the page’s structured data.

Photos More Than Just Parks · Shutterstock/F.