SmogRank / World / North America / United States / Virginia

Most polluted cities in Virginia, United States

13 measured cities, this year; 13 above the WHO annual guideline. Worst: Springfield at 8.4 µg/m³, #1,613 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 citiesPennsylvania: 34 measured citiesNorth Carolina: 18 measured citiesVirginia: 13 measured citiesDistrict of Columbia: 1 measured cityMaryland: 10 measured citiesDelaware: 7 measured citiesNew Jersey: 17 measured citiesKentucky: 17 measured citiesTennessee: 14 measured citiesWest Virginia: 4 measured citiesIndiana: 18 measured cities#12 Roanoke: 7.0 µg/m³#13 Salem: 7.0 µg/m³#11 Poquoson: 7.3 µg/m³#9 Brandermill: 7.5 µg/m³#10 Short Pump: 7.5 µg/m³#8 Richmond: 7.6 µg/m³#6 Hopewell: 7.7 µg/m³#7 Rose Hill: 7.7 µg/m³#5 Harrisonburg: 7.8 µg/m³#4 Ashburn: 8.0 µg/m³#3 Charlottesville: 8.1 µg/m³#2 Chesapeake: 8.3 µg/m³#1 Springfield: 8.4 µg/m³
Each dot is a measured city, coloured by its PM2.5; tap a dot to open the city.
← Harrisonburg 1% 0.75%0
Every measured city in Virginia, 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. 1Harrisonburg 1%
  2. 2Ashburn 1%
  3. 3Springfield 1%
  4. 4Charlottesville 1%
  5. 5Rose Hill 1%
  6. 6Hopewell 0%
  7. 7Poquosonlast full day 3 Oct 0%
  8. 8Salem 0%
  9. 9Chesapeake 0%
  10. 10Short Pump 0%
  11. 11Richmond 0%
  12. 12Brandermill 0%
  13. 13Roanoke 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

Virginia 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
Virginia Beach≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Norfolk≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Arlington≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Newport News≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Alexandria≈ 6 µg/m³Good
East Hampton≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Hampton≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Portsmouth Heights≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Portsmouth≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Suffolk≈ 5 µg/m³Good
South Suffolk≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Lynchburg≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Centreville≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Dale City≈ 6 µg/m³Good
West Lynchburg≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Reston≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Leesburg≈ 4 µg/m³Good
McLean≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Tuckahoe≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Blacksburg≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Danville≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Manassas≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Lake Ridge≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Burke≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Annandale≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Mechanicsville≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Linton Hall≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Oakton≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Oak Hill≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Petersburg≈ 6 µg/m³Good
West Falls Church≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Fredericksburg≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Sterling≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Winchester≈ 3 µg/m³Good
Cave Spring≈ 5 µg/m³Good
Herndon≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Staunton≈ 5 µg/m³Good
South Riding≈ 4 µg/m³Good
Fairfax≈ 6 µg/m³Good
Baileys Crossroads≈ 6 µg/m³Good

Bad-air episodes in Virginia

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 Virginia, United States, PM2.5, this year to 6 Oct 2026, 22:00 UTC, smogrank.com/us/region/virginia?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.