Bangor, Maine Ranks Among Nation’s Cleanest Cities for Air Quality in New ‘State of the Air’ Report

The American Lung Association’s newly released 2025 State of the Air report ranks Bangor, ME, among the cleanest cities in the nation for air quality, marking another year of excellence in ozone and particle pollution levels. This year, Bangor is one of only two cities in the entire country—alongside San Juan, Puerto Rico—to earn a spot on the “cleanest cities” list. While Bangor continues to set a high standard for clean air, the report also highlights a troubling national trend: 156 million Americans—46% of the population—are still living in areas with unhealthy air pollution levels. The findings underscore the need for continued efforts to protect air quality and public health nationwide.

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.

“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 Lance Boucher for the American Lung Association. “Thankfully, people in the Bangor metro area are breathing some of the least polluted air in the country. However, keeping our air clean takes work. We urge Maine policymakers to take action to continue to keep our air clean and we are calling on everyone to support the incredibly important work of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).”

Ground-level Ozone Pollution in the Bangor, ME metro area: 
The “State of the Air” report looked at levels of ozone “smog,” the air pollutant affecting the largest number of people in the United States. The Bangor, ME metro area ranked among the nation's cleanest cities for ozone pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—0 days per year, an A grade, in Penobscot County, Maine. This was comparable to the area's ranking in last year's report among the nation's cleanest cities, with 0 days per year, an A grade.  

Particle Pollution in the Bangor, ME metro area: 
The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution, which can be extremely dangerous and even deadly. The Bangor, ME metro area ranked among the nation's cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—0 days per year, an A grade, in Penobscot County, Maine. This was comparable to the area's ranking in last year's report among the nation's cleanest cities, with 0 days per year, an A grade.  

For the year-round average level of particle pollution, the area’s worst county, Penobscot County, Maine, received a passing grade for pollution levels below the federal standard. The Bangor, ME metro area ranked 204th worst in the nation (5th best among the nation's cleanest cities). This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 200th worst in the nation (5th best among the nation's cleanest cities). 

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.

In this year’s “State of the Air” report, the Lung Association is calling on everyone to support the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA is essential to protecting people’s health from ozone and particle pollution. Without EPA staff and programs, families won’t know what’s in the air they are breathing, and efforts to clean up air pollution will be undone. Join the American Lung Association in advocating to protect EPA’s expert staff and lifesaving programs. See the full report results and take action at Lung.org/sota.

Get involved and help the mission of American Lung Association. The 41st Annual Trek Across Maine is coming up on June 13 -15th, with a new starting line to kick off the 3-day, 180-mile cycling adventure.  Register today at TrekAcrossMaine.org