--- title: These Are the Most Polluted Cities in the U.S. description: California towns top the list canonical: https://time.com/4301208/us-cities-with-most-pollution/ author: Victor Luckerson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-20T16:49:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:54:24.602Z article:section: Health og:title: These Are the Most Polluted Cities in the U.S. og:description: California towns top the list og:url: https://time.com/4301208/us-cities-with-most-pollution/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf37785df79b09758/69888ffa3c16392acc45cef1/gettyimages-475469314.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3748 og:image:height: 2108 og:image:alt: US-LIFESTYLE-TOURISM-LOS ANGELES-POLLUTION og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Are the Most Polluted Cities in the U.S. twitter:description: California towns top the list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf37785df79b09758/69888ffa3c16392acc45cef1/gettyimages-475469314.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Are the Most Polluted Cities in the U.S. > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Victor Luckerson](https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Apr 20, 2016 4:49 PM UTC  A view of the Los Angeles city skyline as heavy smog shrouds the city in California on May 31, 2015. A view of the Los Angeles city skyline as heavy smog shrouds the city in California on May 31, 2015. MARK RALSTON—AFP/Getty Images by [Victor Luckerson](https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/) ## Victor Luckerson Apr 20, 2016 4:49 PM UTC The land of miles-long traffic jams is officially one of the [most polluted city](http://time.com/3840001/most-polluted-cities-2015/) in the country, according to a new report by the [American Lung Association](http://www.lung.org/our-initiatives/healthy-air/sota/city-rankings/cleanest-cities.html). Los Angeles topped the list for most days with a high level of ozone, the scientific name for smog. Another California city, Bakersfield, led in particle pollution. These issues can exacerbate lung disease and asthma, as well as stunt lung growth in children, a scientific adviser for the ALA told [ABC news.](http://abcnews.go.com/Health/los-angeles-bakersfield-top-list-worst-us-cities/story?id=38520476) Overall more than half of the U.S. populace live in places with dangerous levels of smog or particle pollution, according to the report. Several other California cities, including Fresno, Sacramento and San Jose, landed on the pollution lists. On the other end of the spectrum, Bellingham, Wash. was the cleanest city in terms of smog pollution, while Farmington, N.M. was the cleanest in terms of year-round particle pollution. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4301208/us-cities-with-most-pollution/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4301208/us-cities-with-most-pollution/"},"headline":"These Are the Most Polluted Cities in the U.S.","datePublished":"2016-04-20T16:49:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:54:24.602Z","description":"California towns top the list","url":"https://time.com/4301208/us-cities-with-most-pollution/","keywords":["Pollution","los angeles","Smog"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf37785df79b09758/69888ffa3c16392acc45cef1/gettyimages-475469314.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Luckerson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/victor-luckerson/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf37785df79b09758/69888ffa3c16392acc45cef1/gettyimages-475469314.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"US-LIFESTYLE-TOURISM-LOS ANGELES-POLLUTION","caption":"US-LIFESTYLE-TOURISM-LOS ANGELES-POLLUTION","creditText":"MARK RALSTON—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pollution/","name":"Pollution"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4301208/us-cities-with-most-pollution/","name":"These Are the Most Polluted Cities in the U.S."}}]}] ```