SmogRank / World / United States / North Carolina / October 2026

Most polluted cities in North Carolina, United States, October 2026

14 cities in North Carolina, United States ranked by their average PM2.5 so far (5 of 31 days). Worst: Wake Forest at 12.6 µg/m³, #293 of 2,246 cities in the world. Cleanest: Marvin at 3.3. A city needs measurements on 70% of the days to be ranked.

About 0 people in these 3 cities breathed unhealthy air on an average day of October 2026.

Ranked by people: each city's population times its share of unhealthy days, those with a daily mean over 35.4 µg/m³ (US AQI 101+). That is how many people living there breathed unhealthy air on an average day. Only cities measured at 2 or more places at least 3 km apart are ranked: one monitor shouldn't speak for a whole city. Population is the city itself, not its wider metro area.

← Wake Forest 0 0.750
Every city in North Carolina, United States ranked for October 2026 with monitors in two or more places, one column each, ranked by people breathing unhealthy air: height is people on an average day, colour its average. Point at it to read a city; tap to open it.
  1. 1Wake Forestlow-cost sensors
    0
  2. 2Morrisville
    0
  3. 3Charlotte
    0

Low-cost sensors: consumer units, counted only in cities with no government-grade monitor; they read close to reference monitors on the whole, but 15 to 25% high in humid air. How we use them.

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

All cities in the world, October 2026 · All cities in United States, October 2026 · North Carolina now

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SmogRank, most polluted cities in North Carolina, United States, PM2.5, October 2026 (so far), smogrank.com/us/region/north-carolina/history/2026-10 (accessed 6 Oct 2026).

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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.