SmogRank / World / North America / United States / North Carolina
Most polluted cities in North Carolina, United States
17 measured cities, last 30 days; 0 above the WHO 24-hour guideline. Worst: Murraysville at 10.6 µg/m³, #577 in the world.
About 0 people in these 3 cities breathed unhealthy air on an average day over the last 30 days.
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.
Cities coloured by their PM2.5 over the last 24 hours. Fires, smoke and ash: Oct 5, the newest UTC day mapped.
- 1Wake Forestlow-cost sensors 0
- 2Charlotte 0
- 3Morrisville 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.
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
North Carolina 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.
| City | 7-day estimate |
|---|---|
| Cary | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Wilmington | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| High Point | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Concord | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Gastonia | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Jacksonville | ≈ 9 µg/m³ |
| Chapel Hill | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Rocky Mount | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Huntersville | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Burlington | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Wilson | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Kannapolis | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Apex | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Indian Trail | ≈ 9 µg/m³ |
| Goldsboro | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Monroe | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Salisbury | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Holly Springs | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Matthews | ≈ 9 µg/m³ |
| New Bern | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Fort Bragg | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Sanford | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Cornelius | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Garner | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Thomasville | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Statesville | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Asheboro | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Mint Hill | ≈ 9 µg/m³ |
| Fuquay-Varina | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Kernersville | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Lumberton | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Kinston | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Carrboro | ≈ 7 µg/m³ |
| Havelock | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Shelby | ≈ 8 µg/m³ |
| Boone | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Elizabeth City | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| Leland | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Lenoir | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Morganton | ≈ 9 µg/m³ |
Bad-air episodes in North Carolina
- Northern United States and Canada, July 202614 to 21 July 2026, 8 days327 cities548 µg/m³peak, Superior
- South-eastern United States, March 202619 to 21 March 2026, 3 days21 cities47 µg/m³peak, Macon
- Eastern United States, February 202625 February 2026, 1 day9 cities40 µg/m³peak, Wake Forest
- North Carolina and South Carolina, United States, November 202521 November 2025, 1 day8 cities37 µg/m³peak, Wake Forest
- North-eastern United States and Canada, 29 July to 9 August 202512 days292 cities112 µg/m³peak, Marquette
- North-eastern United States, July 20254 to 5 July 2025, 2 days68 cities74 µg/m³peak, Lincolnwood
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 North Carolina, United States, PM2.5, last 30 days to 6 Oct 2026, 23:00 UTC, smogrank.com/us/region/north-carolina?w=30d.
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 23:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.