SmogRank / World / North America / United States / Kentucky

Most polluted cities in Kentucky, United States

11 measured cities, this year; 11 above the WHO annual guideline. Worst: Louisville at 9.1 µg/m³, #1,223 in the world.

Ohio: 27 measured citiesNorth Carolina: 15 measured citiesVirginia: 12 measured citiesMissouri: 10 measured citiesIllinois: 27 measured citiesKentucky: 11 measured citiesArkansas: 4 measured citiesTennessee: 12 measured citiesWest Virginia: 3 measured citiesIndiana: 17 measured cities#11 Fort Thomas: 6.8 µg/m³#10 Nicholasville: 7.0 µg/m³#9 Lexington-Fayette: 7.1 µg/m³#8 Paducah: 7.2 µg/m³#7 Elizabethtown: 7.3 µg/m³#6 Jeffersontown: 7.7 µg/m³#5 Saint Matthews: 7.9 µg/m³#4 Valley Station: 8.7 µg/m³#3 Ashland: 8.8 µg/m³#2 Owensboro: 8.9 µg/m³#1 Louisville: 9.1 µg/m³
Each dot is a measured city, coloured by its PM2.5; tap a dot to open the city.
← Louisville 9.1 µg/m³ 7.5 µg/m³5 WHO annual guideline0
Every measured city in Kentucky, United States, one column each, worst on the left and cleanest on the right; height is PM2.5 in µg/m³. Point at it to read a city; tap to open it.
  1. 1Louisville 511.8×▼219
  2. 2Owensboro 491.8×▼256
  3. 3Ashland 491.8×▼250
  4. 4Valley Station 481.7×▼247
  5. 5Saint Matthews 441.6×▼265
  6. 6Jeffersontown 431.5×▼266
  7. 7Elizabethtown 411.5×▼268
  8. 8Paducah 401.4×▼272
  9. 9Lexington-Fayette 391.4×▼268
  10. 10Nicholasville 391.4×▼268
  11. 11Fort Thomas 381.4×▼274
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≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Meads≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Bowling Green≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Covington≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Richmond≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Georgetown≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Florence≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Hopkinsville≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Henderson≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Frankfort≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Independence≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Radcliff≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Newburg≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Madisonville≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Murray≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Erlanger≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Winchester≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Fern Creek≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Okolona≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Danville≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Burlington≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Shively≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Newport≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Shelbyville≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Highview≈ 6 µg/m³Good

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SmogRank, most polluted cities in Kentucky, United States, PM2.5, this year to 2 Oct 2026, 08:00 UTC, smogrank.com/us/region/kentucky?w=year.

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Updated 2026-10-02 08:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.