SmogRank / World / North America / United States / New Jersey

Most polluted cities in New Jersey, United States

17 measured cities, this year; 17 above the WHO annual guideline. Worst: Palmyra at 11.6 µg/m³, #745 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.

Pennsylvania: 34 measured citiesNew York: 10 measured citiesVirginia: 13 measured citiesMaryland: 10 measured citiesDelaware: 7 measured citiesNew Jersey: 17 measured citiesConnecticut: 6 measured cities#17 Bayonne: 6.8 µg/m³#16 New Brunswick: 7.0 µg/m³#15 Atlantic City: 7.1 µg/m³#13 Smithville: 7.2 µg/m³#14 South Vineland: 7.2 µg/m³#12 Mendham: 7.3 µg/m³#10 Paulsboro: 7.4 µg/m³#11 Trenton: 7.4 µg/m³#7 Fort Lee: 7.7 µg/m³#8 Linden: 7.7 µg/m³#9 Paterson: 7.7 µg/m³#6 Toms River: 7.9 µg/m³#5 Jersey City: 8.0 µg/m³#4 Pennsauken: 8.2 µg/m³#3 Elizabeth: 8.3 µg/m³#2 Ewing: 8.4 µg/m³#1 Palmyra: 11.6 µg/m³
Each dot is a measured city, coloured by its PM2.5; tap a dot to open the city.
← Bayonne 2% 1.5%0
Every measured city in New Jersey, 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. 1Bayonne 2%
  2. 2Paterson 1%
  3. 3Fort Lee 1%
  4. 4Mendham 1%
  5. 5New Brunswick 1%
  6. 6Elizabeth 1%
  7. 7Paulsboro 1%
  8. 8Trenton 1%
  9. 9Linden 1%
  10. 10Ewing 1%
  11. 11Pennsauken 1%
  12. 12Atlantic City 1%
  13. 13Palmyra 1%
  14. 14Smithvillelast full day 3 Oct 1%
  15. 15Toms River 1%
  16. 16Jersey City 1%
  17. 17South Vineland 1%
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

New Jersey 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
Edison≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Clifton≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Brick≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Passaic≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Cherry Hill≈ 8 µg/m³Good
Union City≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Middletown≈ 6 µg/m³Good
East Orange≈ 5 µg/m³Good
North Bergen≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Irvington≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Vineland≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Wayne≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Union≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Piscataway≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Jackson≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Lakewood≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Hoboken≈ 7 µg/m³Good
West New York≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Perth Amboy≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Plainfield≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Parsippany≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Bloomfield≈ 7 µg/m³Good
East Brunswick≈ 7 µg/m³Good
West Orange≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Sayreville≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Hackensack≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Bridgewater≈ 4 µg/m³Good
North Brunswick≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Sicklerville≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Sayreville Junction≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Kearny≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Mount Laurel≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Marlboro≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Teaneck≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Montclair≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Hillsborough≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Sewell≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Belleville≈ 7 µg/m³Good
Orange≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Fair Lawn≈ 7 µg/m³Good

Bad-air episodes in New Jersey

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

Use this board

SmogRank, most polluted cities in New Jersey, United States, PM2.5, this year to 6 Oct 2026, 22:00 UTC, smogrank.com/us/region/new-jersey?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.