Close To Half of Americans Live Breathing Unhealthy Air, New Report Shows
A new report paints a troubling picture of air quality in the United States, finding that 152.3 million people, or 44% of the population, live in places that received failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution.
The 2026 edition of the American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report found that 33.5 million children, or 46% of everyone under 18 in the United States, live in counties that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution.
Moreover, more than 7 million children live in counties that failed all three categories measured in the report. The organization says children are especially vulnerable because their lungs are still developing, they breathe more air for their body size, and they often spend more time outdoors.
The report focuses on two of the most dangerous and widespread pollutants, ground-level ozone, also known as smog, and fine particle pollution, often called soot. Ozone pollution affected 129.1 million people during the study period, the report found, continuing a recent reversal after years of progress.
The ALA said Los Angeles again ranked as the metropolitan area with the worst ozone pollution in the nation, while Bakersfield, California, remained worst for year-round particle pollution for the seventh straight year. Fairbanks, Alaska, ranked worst for short-term particle pollution.
In a statement, American Lung Association President and CEO Harold Wimmer warned that past gains are slipping. “Clean air is not something we can take for granted. It takes work,” Wimmer said. He added that progress is increasingly threatened by extreme heat, wildfires, and policy decisions that weaken protections.
The report argues that climate-driven heat and wildfire smoke are making it harder to preserve the benefits of the Clean Air Act, even as that law has helped cut emissions of six major pollutants by 78% between 1970 and 2020, according to EPA data.
Federal health agencies have long warned that these pollutants can have serious consequences. The EPA says inhaling ozone can trigger coughing, shortness of breath, and worsened asthma or bronchitis symptoms. The CDC, meanwhile, says wildfire smoke contains fine particles and gases that can cause coughing, wheezing, asthma attacks, chest pain, and trouble breathing, especially among children, pregnant people, and those with chronic illnesses.
The burden is not shared equally. The Lung Association said a person of color in the United States is more than twice as likely as a white person to live in a community with failing grades for all three pollution measures. Hispanic residents are more than three times as likely as white residents to live in such communities.
