10 Indiana Cities With the Worst Air Quality Right Now

In 2026, these cities have the worst air quality in the entire state, and they may or may not surprise you.

We expect the air that we breathe in to be clean. Nobody wants nasty toxins and particles in their lungs just by setting foot outside. It may or may not come as a surprise to you that Indiana isn’t doing so well when it comes to its air quality. It ranks among the worst states for air quality in the country. Let's be honest, a lot of the air that we breathe in is unhealthy. The air quality in Indiana can vary depending on the season, weather conditions, and sources of pollution. Some common sources of air pollution in Indiana are power plants, factories, vehicles, wildfires, and dust. The use of vehicles actually accounts for a big portion of Indiana's air pollution.

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According to the latest Air Quality Index by the World Population Review, Indiana isone of the worst states in the country when it comes to air quality in 2026. We scored a lowly 47.5 out of 500 on the Air Quality Index, which measures levels of ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide.

The 10 Indiana Cities With the Highest Air Pollution Levels Right Now

So, we know Indiana isn't one of the best states for air pollution levels, but which cities in the state are the worst?. According to the real-time Air Quality Index (AQI) from IQ Air, the following Indiana cities have the worst air quality (as of February 25, 2026):

Kendallville
Clarksville
Dillsboro
Jeffersonville
Beech Grove
New Albany
Hanover
Tell City
Chesterton
Larwill

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Those rankings change, of course, in response to real-time events in and around the Hoosier State. It's actually pretty interesting how these change day to day. You can take a look, and depending on when you see it, that top ten list might be completely different. Learn more about the AQI from IQ Air and what the role of air pollution plays in Indiana by clicking here.

16 Indiana Towns with Dirty-Sounding Names

A majority of these towns were given their names in the mid-to-late 1800s as settlers making their way across the country found unclaimed plots of land and decided to make them their own. While I imagine they thought the names they came up with were innocent, and perhaps a tribute to something in their lives, pop culture has warped our minds to the point since then that we can't help but think of something about the town that was never intended by its founders. Take a look at this list. I guarantee there's at least one name that will make you chuckle.

Gallery Credit: Ryan O'Bryan

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KEEP READING: 40 Real Indiana Towns with Quirky, Weird, and Funny Names

Outside the major cities, the Hoosier state is full of tiny little towns you've probably passed through on your way to one of those cities. Most of them are likely 100 to 150 years old, or older, and have been around far longer than the large metropolitan areas such as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Evansville. Typically, they were started by early settlers who found their way to the state and decided to make it home. Eventually, others would join them, and a community was formed. Over time, as the surrounding areas grew, most of them were folded into those areas and governed by the nearest city or county's governing body officially making them "unincorporated," meaning they did not have their own formally organized municipal government.

A scroll through Wikipedia's long list of unincorporated communities in Indiana shows several of them have names that by today's standards would be considered weird, quirky, or just downright right funny. These are my 40 favorities.

Gallery Credit: Ryan O'Bryan

Source: These 10 Indiana Cities Have the Worst Air Quality in the State Right Now

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