Report: California’s Most Polluted Cities

The American Lung Association’s 2023 State of the Air report is bad news for California. Years of wildfires have reversed the state’s clean air progress, the report shows. California cities now comprise the majority of U.S. cities with the worst short-term particle pollution.

ALA’s State of the Air report is based on official air quality data. The report looks at both particle and ozone pollutants.

Five California Cities Most Polluted by Daily Particulate Matter 

1. Bakersfield (#1 nationally) 
2. Fresno-Madera-Hanford (#2 nationally)
3. Visalia (#3 nationally) 
4. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland (#6 nationally)
5. Redding-Red Bluff (#7 nationally)

Five California Cities Most Polluted by Annual Particulate Matter 

1. Bakersfield (#1 nationally) 
2. Visalia (#2 nationally) 
3. Fresno-Madera-Hanford (#3 nationally) 
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach (#4 nationally)
5. Sacramento-Roseville (#6 nationally) 

Five California Cities Most Polluted by Ozone

1. Visalia (#1 nationally) 
2. Bakersfield (#2 nationally) 
3. Fresno-Madera-Hanford (#3 nationally) 
4. Sacramento-Roseville (#7 nationally)
5. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad (#8 nationally) 

Read the full report here.  

Lists and data were compiled by the American Lung Association and do not reflect data on all cities.