SmogRank / World / North America / United States / Kentucky

Most polluted cities in Kentucky, United States

17 measured cities, this year; 17 above the WHO annual guideline. Worst: Flatwoods at 10.0 µg/m³, #995 in the world.

Ranked by unhealthy days: the share of each city's measured days with a daily mean over 35.4 µg/m³ (US AQI 101+), Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse on the US EPA's scale. Ties go to the higher average.

Ohio: 27 measured citiesNorth Carolina: 18 measured citiesVirginia: 13 measured citiesMissouri: 10 measured citiesIllinois: 31 measured citiesKentucky: 17 measured citiesArkansas: 4 measured citiesTennessee: 14 measured citiesWest Virginia: 4 measured citiesIndiana: 18 measured cities#17 Pikeville: 6.2 µg/m³#16 Hazard: 6.5 µg/m³#15 Highland Heights: 6.8 µg/m³#14 Nicholasville: 7.0 µg/m³#13 Lexington-Fayette: 7.1 µg/m³#12 Paducah: 7.2 µg/m³#11 Elizabethtown: 7.3 µg/m³#10 Oak Grove: 7.6 µg/m³#9 Jeffersontown: 7.7 µg/m³#8 Saint Matthews: 7.9 µg/m³#7 Somerset: 8.2 µg/m³#6 Valley Station: 8.6 µg/m³#5 Middlesboro: 8.7 µg/m³#3 Ashland: 8.8 µg/m³#4 Owensboro: 8.8 µg/m³#2 Louisville: 9.0 µg/m³#1 Flatwoods: 10.0 µg/m³
Each dot is a measured city, coloured by its PM2.5; tap a dot to open the city.
← Somerset 0% 0.75%0
Every measured city in Kentucky, United States, one column each, ranked by unhealthy days: height is the share of its measured days that were unhealthy, colour its average. Point at it to read a city; tap to open it.
  1. 1Somerset 0%
  2. 2Flatwoods 0%
  3. 3Louisville 0%
  4. 4Ashland 0%
  5. 4Owensboro 0%
  6. 6Middlesboro 0%
  7. 7Valley Station 0%
  8. 8Saint Matthews 0%
  9. 9Jeffersontown 0%
  10. 10Oak Grove 0%
  11. 11Elizabethtown 0%
  12. 12Paducahlast full day 3 Oct 0%
  13. 13Lexington-Fayette 0%
  14. 14Nicholasville 0%
  15. 15Highland Heights 0%
  16. 16Hazard 0%
  17. 17Pikeville 0%
Good0–50
Moderate51–100
Sensitive groups101–150
Unhealthy151–200
Very unhealthy201–300
Hazardous301+

The US EPA's Air Quality Index for PM2.5 (2024 breakpoints). Show values as: µg/m³ · US AQI · India AQI · China AQI · European AQI · UK DAQI · Canada AQHI+. About the scales

Estimated: cities without a monitor

Kentucky cities we can't measure, with model estimates for the last 7 days. Listed by population, not ranked: estimates aren't precise enough to rank. Model estimates from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), adjusted to measured cities nearby where there are any. Adjusted, a single day lands within ×1.5 of what a monitor would read about two times in three; unadjusted, it can be off by half or double. Treat them as a guide, not a measurement.

City7-day estimateBand
Lexington≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Meads≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Bowling Green≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Covington≈ 9 µg/m³Good
Richmond≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Georgetown≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Florence≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Hopkinsville≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Henderson≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Frankfort≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Independence≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Radcliff≈ 8 µg/m³Good
Newburg≈ 8 µg/m³Good
Madisonville≈ 8 µg/m³Good
Murray≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Erlanger≈ 8 µg/m³Good
Winchester≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Fern Creek≈ 8 µg/m³Good
Okolona≈ 8 µg/m³Good
Danville≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Fort Thomas≈ 9 µg/m³Good
Burlington≈ 8 µg/m³Good
Shively≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Newport≈ 9 µg/m³Good
Shelbyville≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Highview≈ 8 µg/m³Good

Bad-air episodes in Kentucky

Times when many cities around here had PM2.5 at twice their usual or more on the same days.

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SmogRank, most polluted cities in Kentucky, United States, PM2.5, this year to 6 Oct 2026, 22:00 UTC, smogrank.com/us/region/kentucky?w=year.

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You're welcome to reuse a single chart, image or figure with this citation and a link. Terms. Raw monitor readings in bulk are published by OpenAQ, under each provider's licence.

Updated 2026-10-06 22:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.