New Report: Cleveland Ranked 9th Most Polluted Area in the U.S.

Today, the American Lung Association released the 2025 “State of the Air” report, which reveals that Cleveland was named 9th worst in the nation for year-round particle pollution. 

The Lung Association’s 26th annual “State of the Air” report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution (also known as smog), and year-round and short-term spikes in particle pollution (also known as soot) over a three-year period. The report looks at the latest quality-assured air quality data from 2021-2023.

Ground-level Ozone Pollution in the Cleveland metro area:
•    Number of Unhealthy Days per Year: 5.3 days (5.8 days in 2024 report)
•    Grade: F (F in 2024 report)
•    National Ranking: 50th worst (31st worst in 2024 report)

Particle Pollution in the Cleveland metro area:
•    Number of Unhealthy Days Per Year: 4.2 days (1.5 days in 2024 report) 
•    Grade: F (C in 2024 report)
•    National Ranking: 46th (73rd worst in 2024 report)

Year-Round Average Level of Particle Pollution in Detroit metro area:
•    Grade: Failing grade, pollution levels above the federal standard (passing grade in 2024 report)
•    National Ranking: 9th worst (54th worst in 2024 report)

See the full report results at Lung.org/sota.

“The air pollutants covered in this report are widespread and can impact anyone’s health. Both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, preterm births and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. Particle pollution can also cause lung cancer,” said Kezia Ofosu Atta, Advocacy Director for the Lung Association in Ohio.

“Unfortunately, too many people in Cleveland are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution. This air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, making people who work outdoors sick and unable to work, and leading to low birth weight in babies. We urge Ohio policymakers to take action to improve our air quality.”

The “State of the Air” report found that 156 million people in the U.S. (46%) live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution and 42.5 million people live in areas with failing grades for all three measures. The report also found that a person of color in the U.S. is more than twice as likely as a white individual to live in a community with a failing grade on all three pollution measures. Notably, Hispanic individuals are nearly three times as likely as white individuals to live in a community with three failing grades.