SmogRank / World / North America / United States / Virginia
Most polluted cities in Virginia, United States
14 measured cities, last 30 days; 0 above the WHO 24-hour guideline. Worst: Bristol at 6.2 µg/m³, #1,673 in the world.
About 0 people in this city 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.
- 1Richmond 0
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.
| City | 7-day estimate |
|---|---|
| Virginia Beach | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Norfolk | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Arlington | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Newport News | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Alexandria | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| East Hampton | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Hampton | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Portsmouth Heights | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Portsmouth | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Suffolk | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| South Suffolk | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Lynchburg | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Centreville | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| Dale City | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| West Lynchburg | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Reston | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Leesburg | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| McLean | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Tuckahoe | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Blacksburg | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Danville | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Manassas | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| Lake Ridge | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Burke | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Annandale | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Mechanicsville | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Linton Hall | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| Oakton | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Oak Hill | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| Petersburg | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| West Falls Church | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Fredericksburg | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| Sterling | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| Winchester | ≈ 3 µg/m³ |
| Cave Spring | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| Herndon | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Staunton | ≈ 5 µg/m³ |
| South Riding | ≈ 4 µg/m³ |
| Fairfax | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
| Baileys Crossroads | ≈ 6 µg/m³ |
Bad-air episodes in Virginia
- Northern United States and Canada, July 202614 to 21 July 2026, 8 days327 cities548 µg/m³peak, Superior
- 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
- Eastern United States, March 202413 to 15 March 2024, 3 days40 cities53 µg/m³peak, Saint Andrews
- United States and Canada, July 202314 to 19 July 2023, 6 days322 cities202 µg/m³peak, Edmonton
- Eastern United States and Canada, June and July 202325 June to 2 July 2023, 8 days343 cities453 µg/m³peak, Saguenay
Times when many cities around here had PM2.5 at twice their usual or more on the same days.
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SmogRank, most polluted cities in Virginia, United States, PM2.5, last 30 days to 6 Oct 2026, 22:00 UTC, smogrank.com/us/region/virginia?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 22:07 UTC. Values are PM2.5 (fine particles), the median of each city's monitors, as the US AQI PM2.5 sub-index.