What are the dirtiest and cleanest cities in the USA? The American Lung Association on May 1, 2008 released its annual air pollution report card that ranks American cities.

Some overall findings … 1 in 10 people in the U.S. live in areas with unhealthful levels of all three types of pollution … ozone, short term and year-round particle pollution, and nearly one third of the U.S. population lives in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone.

No surprise that Los Angeles is at the top of 2 of the 3 pollution categories, but the report says L.A. “saw continued improvements in air quality, dropping its year round particle pollution levels by nearly one third during the last decade, and saw solid improvements in levels of ozone or smog.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has the distinction of being the first-ever (9 years of studies) non-California city to top one of the pollution lists.

How do the Top 10 cities rank for each category?

Top 10 Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution:
1 - Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, California
2 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
3 - Bakersfield, California
4 - Birmingham, Alabama
5 - Visalia - Porterville, California
6 - Atlanta, Georgia
7 - Cincinnati, Ohio
8 - Fresno - Madera, California
9 - Hanford - Corcoran, California
10 - Detroit, Michigan

Top 10 Cities Most Polluted by Ozone:
1 - Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, California
2 - Bakersfield, California
3 - Visalia - Porterville, California
4 - Houston, Texas
5 - Fresno - Madera, California
6 - Sacramento, California
7 - Dallas - Ft. Worth, Texas
8 - New York, New York/Newark, New Jersey
9 - Baltimore, Maryland - Washington, D.C. - Northern Virginia
10 - Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Top 10 Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution:
1 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2 - Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, California
3 - Fresno - Madera, California
4 - Bakersfield, California
5 - Birmingham, Alabama
6 - Logan, Utah
7 - Salt Lake City, Utah
8 - Sacramento, California
9 - Detroit, Michigan
10 - Baltimore, Maryland - Washington, D.C. - Northern Virginia
* “Short term particle pollution” refers to ash, soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols that can spike dangerously for hours to weeks on end.

Where are the 10 cleanest cities in America?
According to the study … for long term particle pollution, the cleanest cities are:
1 - Cheyenne, Wyoming
2 - Santa Fe - Espanola, New Mexico
3 - Honolulu, Hawaii
4 - Great Fallas, Montana
5 - Farmington, New Mexico
6 - Tucson, Arizona
7 - Bismarck, North Dakota
7 - Flagstaff, Arizona
9 - Anchorage, Alaska
10 - Salinas, California