CostTrek

★ Best places to live

Cities with the cleanest air

Breathe easy — cities ranked by air quality, lowest pollution first.

This ranking covers 87 cities from our index, sorted by Pollution. Zurich comes out on top at 25/100, ahead of Seattle and Dublin. Open any city for its full cost-of-living, tax and quality-of-life breakdown — or compare two side by side.

By regionEuropeAsiaNorth America
RankPollution
  1. 1ZurichSwitzerland25/100
  2. 2SeattleUnited States30/100
  3. 3DublinIreland30/100
  4. 4VancouverCanada30/100
  5. 5SydneyAustralia30/100
  6. 6MelbourneAustralia30/100
  7. 7ViennaAustria30/100
  8. 8TallinnEstonia30/100
  9. 9SapporoJapan30/100
  10. 10BostonUnited States35/100
  11. 11PortlandUnited States35/100
  12. 12MinneapolisUnited States35/100
  13. 13ValenciaSpain35/100
  14. 14MontrealCanada35/100
  15. 15PortoPortugal38/100
  16. 16HamburgGermany38/100
  17. 17FukuokaJapan38/100
  18. 18San FranciscoUnited States40/100
  19. 19San DiegoUnited States40/100
  20. 20WashingtonUnited States40/100
  21. 21AustinUnited States40/100
  22. 22NashvilleUnited States40/100
  23. 23CharlotteUnited States40/100
  24. 24ColumbusUnited States40/100
  25. 25MunichGermany40/100
  26. 26AmsterdamNetherlands40/100
  27. 27LisbonPortugal40/100
  28. 28TorontoCanada40/100
  29. 29PragueCzech Republic40/100
  30. 30FrankfurtGermany40/100
  31. 31OsakaJapan40/100
  32. 32RotterdamNetherlands40/100
  33. 33CologneGermany40/100
  34. 34NagoyaJapan40/100
  35. 35BordeauxFrance40/100
  36. 36ManchesterUnited Kingdom42/100
  37. 37NiceFrance42/100
  38. 38StuttgartGermany42/100
  39. 39ChicagoUnited States45/100
  40. 40MiamiUnited States45/100
  41. 41DallasUnited States45/100
  42. 42DenverUnited States45/100
  43. 43AtlantaUnited States45/100
  44. 44PhiladelphiaUnited States45/100
  45. 45San AntonioUnited States45/100
  46. 46MadridSpain45/100
  47. 47SingaporeSingapore45/100
  48. 48TokyoJapan45/100
  49. 49LyonFrance45/100
  50. 50MarseilleFrance46/100
  51. 51FlorenceItaly48/100
  52. 52HoustonUnited States50/100
  53. 53Las VegasUnited States50/100
  54. 54DetroitUnited States50/100
  55. 55BarcelonaSpain50/100
  56. 56Buenos AiresArgentina50/100
  57. 57BudapestHungary50/100
  58. 58NaplesItaly52/100
  59. 59New YorkUnited States55/100
  60. 60PhoenixUnited States55/100
  61. 61BerlinGermany55/100
  62. 62DubaiUnited Arab Emirates55/100
  63. 63WarsawPoland55/100
  64. 64BaliIndonesia55/100
  65. 65MedellínColombia55/100
  66. 66AthensGreece55/100
  67. 67Kuala LumpurMalaysia55/100
  68. 68SeoulSouth Korea55/100
  69. 69TurinItaly55/100
  70. 70GuadalajaraMexico58/100
  71. 71Los AngelesUnited States60/100
  72. 72LondonUnited Kingdom60/100
  73. 73RomeItaly60/100
  74. 74TbilisiGeorgia60/100
  75. 75São PauloBrazil60/100
  76. 76IstanbulTurkey62/100
  77. 77PuneIndia62/100
  78. 78ParisFrance65/100
  79. 79Ho Chi Minh CityVietnam65/100
  80. 80BangaloreIndia68/100
  81. 81MilanItaly70/100
  82. 82BangkokThailand70/100
  83. 83Chiang MaiThailand70/100
  84. 84BishkekKyrgyzstan70/100
  85. 85ChennaiIndia70/100
  86. 86Mexico CityMexico75/100
  87. 87MumbaiIndia85/100
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? Frequently asked questions

Which cities top this ranking?

Zurich leads at 25/100, followed by Seattle and Dublin. The full ranking of 87 cities is listed above.

How is this ranking calculated?

We sort all 87 cities in our index by Pollution. Figures are calibrated estimates, refreshed as we expand coverage — a practical guide, not official statistics.

Can I compare these cities in detail?

Yes. Open any city for its cost of living, rent, taxes, visas and quality of life, or use CostTrek’s side-by-side comparison to weigh two cities against each other.

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