Florida leads the nation in clean air, American Lung Association report finds

Florida’s clean-air streak just picked up another national endorsement.

The American Lung Association’s (ALA) 2026 State of the Air Report named 21 Florida counties among the cleanest in the country for ozone pollution, and no Florida county landed on the group’s list of the 25 Most Polluted Places to Live. The recognition arrives at the start of Clean Air Month, with nearly half of all Americans living somewhere with failing grades for ozone or particle pollution.

Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Alexis Lambert said the rankings track the broader arc of Florida’s air-quality story.

“Florida’s natural resources are central to our economy, our quality of life and the communities we call home,” Lambert said. “The findings in this report reinforce the progress Florida continues to make through a long-term commitment to sound science and strong environmental standards.”

Among the regions singled out for low ozone: Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, Gainesville-Lake City, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, and Tallahassee-Bainbridge. On the particle-pollution side, Pensacola was named one of the cleanest cities in the country for short-term particle pollution. Gainesville-Lake City and Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville drew nods for year-round particle pollution, and Escambia County was recognized as one of the cleanest counties for short-term particle pollution.

The new ALA marks build on a milestone DEP highlighted earlier this year: Florida is the most populous state in the nation to meet or exceed all federal air quality standards, and has done so for five consecutive years. The Environmental Protection Agency tracks compliance across six pollutants — carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particle pollution and sulfur dioxide — and Florida is hitting the marks on every one of them, even as the state’s population pushes past 23 million.

The longer-term numbers are striking. Industrial emissions have fallen 78% since 2000, and ozone — the most widespread air pollutant — has been cut nearly in half over the past two decades. Both declines have come during a period of sustained population, housing, and tourism growth that has pushed air quality the wrong way in plenty of peer states with heavy industrial bases.

This is also the second consecutive year Florida has fared well in the ALA’s marquee national survey. Last year’s report placed Cape Coral, Sarasota, Orlando, and Jacksonville among the cleanest metro areas in the country for ozone and particle pollution.

Other recent work has reinforced the trend in regions historically flagged for emissions concerns. Research from Florida A&M and Tuskegee universities found earlier this year that air in the Glades region stayed within federal standards even during sugarcane harvest season, with most measured pollution traceable to dust and out-of-state wildfire smoke.

Backing up the data is one of the country’s most extensive monitoring networks: 180 monitors across 90 sites statewide, feeding real-time air quality information to residents and emergency managers — particularly during wildfire and drought stretches when conditions can shift fast. Floridians can pull daily Air Quality Index readings through DEP’s Air Quality Today map or the federal AirNow.gov site.