Breathing in Utah is Injurious to Health.

Air pollution threatens the health of 3.4 million people across 29 districts in Utah. The average PM2.5 level is 6.9 µg/m³—1.4× higher than the WHO guideline.

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Overview

Air Pollution in Utah

Utah faces significant air pollution challenges. 28% of districts exceed the WHO guideline for clean air. This is putting 3.4 million across 29 districts at risk.

The average PM2.5 over 2023 was 6.9µg/m³. That's 1.4 times the WHO guideline for clean air of 5µg/m³.

This is equivalent of everybody, including children, smoking about 114 cigarettes in a year.

Trends

Air Quality Trend

Annual PM2.5 levels from 2014 to 2023. The WHO guideline for safe air is 5 µg/m³.

Health Impact

Life Expectancy Impact

If Utah met the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³, the average person would live 0.19 years longer.

That's 655K years of life stolen from 3.4 million people. Years of watching children grow up. Years of building a career. Years of quiet mornings and celebrations.

Lives cut short. Breathing kills.

Most Polluted

Districts with Highest Pollution

The top 10 most polluted districts in Utah. These areas face the greatest health burden from air pollution.

  • 1.Salt Lake
    0.3 years lost
  • 2.Davis
    0.3 years lost
  • 3.Weber
    0.2 years lost
  • 4.Morgan
    0.2 years lost
  • 5.Cache
    0.2 years lost
  • 6.Box Elder
    0.1 years lost
  • 7.Utah
    0.1 years lost
  • 8.Tooele
    0 years lost
  • 9.Rich
    0 years lost
  • 10.Wasatch
    0 years lost
Exposure

Population Exposure by Pollution Level

Distribution of population across different PM2.5 pollution levels. The WHO guideline is 5 µg/m³—only populations below this threshold are breathing safe air.

< 5 µg/m³
16.1%
553K
5-10 µg/m³
83.9%
2.9M
10-15 µg/m³
0%
0
15-25 µg/m³
0%
0
25-35 µg/m³
0%
0
> 35 µg/m³
0%
0
Districts

All 29 Districts in Utah

Complete air quality data for every district in Utah, sorted by population.

DistrictPopulationPM2.5 µg/m³Years Lost
Salt Lake1.3M
8.1
0.3 years
Utah695K
6.2
0.1 years
Davis362K
7.8
0.3 years
Weber268K
7.2
0.2 years
Washington197K
4.5
0.0 years
Cache141K
6.7
0.2 years
Tooele70K
5.5
0.0 years
Iron62K
3.7
0.0 years
Box Elder59K
6.5
0.1 years
Summit46K
4.7
0.0 years
Uintah36K
4.6
0.0 years
Wasatch33K
4.8
0.0 years
Sanpete29K
4.1
0.0 years
Sevier23K
4.6
0.0 years
Carbon21K
4.4
0.0 years
Duchesne21K
4.8
0.0 years
San Juan14K
2.8
0.0 years
Millard13K
4.4
0.0 years
Juab11K
4.4
0.0 years
Morgan11K
6.9
0.2 years
Grand10K
3.1
0.0 years
Emery9K
4.0
0.0 years
Kane8K
2.9
0.0 years
Beaver7K
4.3
0.0 years
Garfield5K
3.6
0.0 years
Wayne2K
3.9
0.0 years
Rich2K
4.9
0.0 years
Piute1K
4.7
0.0 years
Daggett1K
4.1
0.0 years

Showing 29 districts, sorted by population (largest first). PM2.5 values are for 2023. Years lost calculated against WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³.