Air Quality: Las Vegas Is Near Cities With The Best And Worst

A recent survey reveals that Las Vegas ranks 23^rd in the nation when it comes to air quality. But there are nearby cities which reportedly have the best, and worst, air quality in the nation.

Some days in Las Vegas, you can see for miles if you’re up on one of the freeway overpasses. Of course, there are other days where you can barely make out some of the buildings on the Las Vegas Strip from a distance.

A recent study performed by the data collection experts at SmartSurvey.com reveals that there are cities near Las Vegas with some of the worst air pollution in the nation. In fact, the Inland Empire of Southern California has the worst air quality in the U.S. That metro area is just about three to four hours away from us.

According to this study, the metropolitan region which includes Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ontario, California only saw 54 good air days during the entire calendar year of 2023. I lived and worked in San Bernardino in the late 80s and early 90s, and I can vouch that there were plenty of smoggy days there.

Houston, Texas has the second worst air quality in the nation based on 2023 data figures from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Albuquerque, New Mexico ranks third, the Greater Chicago, Illinois region comes in fourth, and the greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin area lands in the fifth spot.

Other nearby metro areas which land in the 50 worst air quality regions include Phoenix, Arizona at number 11, Bishop, California right behind Las Vegas at number 24, Los Angeles ranks 28^th, Yuma, Arizona lands at number 41, and Salt Lake City, Utah places 43^rd.

There is also a nearby city which can claim the best air quality in the U.S.A. We’re talking about the Kingman-Lake Havasu City, Arizona area. That’s only about a two-hour drive from Las Vegas. Road trip!

Now, feel free to scroll down for more content which may interest you.

There is always a lot going on here in our city! But, where does Las Vegas rank when it comes to the "noisiest" cities in America? According to an article put out by SteelGuard, you might be surprised!

We can tell you right now, the good news is that we don't even appear in the Top 10. However, living in Las Vegas, we are subject to quite a bit of noise. Whether it be in the flight path of the airport, road construction, the building of new homes, noise is unavoidable. It's all over the city, but still, we rate fairly low on the list.

We have to be honest, the City of Henderson is a lot quieter than Las Vegas and for good reason. They operate as a small town with less people compared to Las Vegas.

But, let's look at how the criteria and list was put together. Keep in mind that, according to the article, transportation, traffic, construction and even the number of bars we're taken into consideration.

With all that, you'd think that our city would rank high on the list! But, would you believe that we didn't even make the Top 20? Cities like Philadelphia, San Francisco, even the Midwestern city of Milwaukee... all noisier than US!

It's amazing that, when you scroll down and see what cities made the Top 5, how much quieter we really are. Please, how many times have you heard the screeching of tires in your neighborhood or sirens flying by your house at all hours of the night?

Still, we are NOT the noisiest city in America! Even the Mile High City of Denver registers on the list higher than us... and you'd think that with all that "Rocky Mountain High" stuff, that would be a nice and quiet place to settle down.

Well, let's do it... scroll down to see where Las Vegas ends up on the list and what are the Top 5 Noisiest Cities in America. Enjoy.

They clearly have a lot going on in Boston day in and day out. So, when you look at noisy cities, this New England town comes in at #5. Wicked noisy!

Don't let the beautiful night skyline fool ya, this is one noisy city! In a congested area as it is, it's no wonder it doesn't rank higher. But be proud Newark... you are #4 on the list.

Don't let this picture fool ya... it looks quiet and quaint, but Jersey City has a lot going on. Again, in that congested area outside of New York, for this reason Jersey City comes in at #3 on the list.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. There's a reason that this city is referred to as the "Second City" but it can get pretty noisy downtown. Traffic, The L train running overhead, and construction. As beautiful as it looks, Chicago is #2 on the list.

Are you really surprised? Didn't think so. New York City is the noisiest city in America. And if you've ever been there you would understand. It's big, it's loud and it's proud of it's #1 ranking. Congrats to the BIG APPLE!

Well, it could be a lot worse right? And you would think that with all that we have going on here, we would have ranked much, much higher, but NOPE! When it comes down to it, Las Vegas seems to be average after all. At #24, we seem to be right in the middle of this 50 city survey when it comes to the "Noisiest Cities in America!"

Larry Martino is the long-time afternoon drive personality on 96.3 KKLZ. The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of Larry Martino and not necessarily those of Beasley Media Group, LLC. Follow us: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram