ORLANDO, Fla. – This year, U.S. News & World Report has released its latest ranking of the states with the best and worst air/water quality.
According to researchers, the study breaks down both of these factors using the following EPA data:
Drinking Water Quality — The number of violation points accrued over five years by public water systems per 1,000 customers served
Air Quality — The population-weighted average of available county-level figures reflecting the number of days the Air Quality Index was not rated ‘good.’
Overall, the top state on both counts turned out to be Hawaii, though the Sunshine State didn’t fall too far off.
In fact, Florida scored at No. 6 overall — No. 16 for air quality, and No. 13 for drinking water quality.
That said, some areas of the state have better quality than others. For example, the American Lung Association lists in its 2025 “State of the Air” report that only the following counties scored an “A.”
Alachua
Baker
Bay
Brevard
Broward
Collier
Columbia
Flagler
Holmes
Indian River
Lake
Leon
Liberty
Manatee
Martin
Okaloosa
Osceola
Palm Beach
Pasco
Santa Rosa
Sarasota
Seminole
St. Lucie
Volusia
Wakulla
While the report doesn’t account for every county due to limited data, only one area of the state received the lowest “C” grade: Hillsborough County, which reportedly had four orange days on record.
Meanwhile, the rest of U.S. News & World’s report is as follows:
Overall RankStateAir Quality RankWater Quality Rank1Hawaii112Massachusetts1123Virginia9144Maryland1095Washington13246Florida16137South Carolina2258South Dakota15269New York182010Rhode Island172211New Hampshire44212New Jersey202513Nebraska192714Tennessee27315North Carolina231616Kentucky29617Alabama36418North Dakota261819Minnesota321220Idaho64321Missouri252322Oregon144023Georgia40724Ohio351125Connecticut213726Delaware42827Wisconsin282928Utah342129Louisiana243530Wyoming54631Colorado313332Arkansas392833Mississippi431534Kansas303435Vermont74436Michigan413637Iowa453038Indiana373839West Virginia84740New Mexico333941Illinois471942Nevada481743Maine34944Texas463145California491046Pennsylvania384147Montana124848Alaska25049Arizona503250Oklahoma4445Breaking News Alerts
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