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NATIONAL COMPARISON · 50 STATES + DC
Tap Water Quality Rankings by State 2026
States are ordered by the share of tracked cities with UCMR5 data flagged over an EPA limit or an active PFAS MCL violation (same bar as our state & city reports). Grades use that percentage only; "safe" cities are tracked locations with no such flag and a low regional concern profile. States without a city guide yet appear at the bottom.
43
states have cities with contaminants above EPA health or enforceable limits in our dataset (UCMR5 flags or MCL violations), among 47 states with at least one tracked city.
Click column headers to sort. Default: best rank (lowest % cities at risk) first.
| RANK ▲ | STATE | GRADE | CITIES AT RISK | CITIES SAFE | WORST CONTAMINANT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hawaii 1 tracked | A(0% at risk) | 0 | 0 | PFPeA |
| 2 | Maryland 1 tracked | A(0% at risk) | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | North Dakota 1 tracked | A(0% at risk) | 0 | 0 | PFBA |
| 4 | Washington DC 1 tracked | A(0% at risk) | 0 | 0 | PFPeA |
| 5 | Texas 15 tracked | C(46.7% at risk) | 7 | 0 | 6:2 FTS |
| 6 | Georgia 2 tracked | C(50% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFBS |
| 7 | California 15 tracked | D(73.3% at risk) | 11 | 0 | PFHxS |
| 8 | North Carolina 7 tracked | F(85.7% at risk) | 6 | 0 | PFOS |
| 9 | Arizona 9 tracked | F(88.9% at risk) | 8 | 0 | PFBS |
| 10 | Alabama 3 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 3 | 0 | PFBS |
| 11 | Alaska 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFOS |
| 12 | Arkansas 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFBA |
| 13 | Colorado 5 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 5 | 0 | PFHxA |
| 14 | Connecticut 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFOS |
| 15 | Florida 10 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 10 | 0 | 6:2 FTS |
| 16 | Idaho 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFNA |
| 17 | Illinois 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFOS |
| 18 | Indiana 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFPeA |
| 19 | Iowa 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFBA |
| 20 | Kansas 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFPeA |
| 21 | Kentucky 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFBA |
| 22 | Louisiana 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFBA |
| 23 | Maine 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFHxS |
| 24 | Massachusetts 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFOA |
| 25 | Michigan 3 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 3 | 0 | PFHxS |
| 26 | Minnesota 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFBA |
| 27 | Mississippi 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFOS |
| 28 | Missouri 3 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 3 | 0 | PFBA |
| 29 | Nebraska 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFHxS |
| 30 | Nevada 3 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 3 | 0 | PFOS |
| 31 | New Hampshire 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFBA |
| 32 | New Jersey 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFNA |
| 33 | New Mexico 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFPeA |
| 34 | New York 3 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 3 | 0 | PFHxA |
| 35 | Ohio 6 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 6 | 0 | PFBS |
| 36 | Oklahoma 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFOS |
| 37 | Oregon 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFHxS |
| 38 | Pennsylvania 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFOA |
| 39 | Rhode Island 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFBS |
| 40 | South Carolina 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | HFPO-DA |
| 41 | South Dakota 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFHxS |
| 42 | Tennessee 5 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 5 | 0 | PFBS |
| 43 | Utah 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFOS |
| 44 | Virginia 4 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 4 | 0 | PFPeA |
| 45 | Washington 3 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 3 | 0 | PFOS |
| 46 | West Virginia 1 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 1 | 0 | PFOA |
| 47 | Wisconsin 2 tracked | F(100% at risk) | 2 | 0 | PFBA |
| 48 | Delaware No city data | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 49 | Montana No city data | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 50 | Vermont No city data | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 51 | Wyoming No city data | — | 0 | 0 | — |
WORST CITIES IN AMERICA (UCMR5 DETECTIONS)
Top 20 tracked cities by count of distinct contaminants detected above zero in EPA UCMR5 data (not all are above health or legal limits — see each city report).
1.TampaFL
12 contaminants2.JacksonvilleFL
12 contaminants3.OrlandoFL
12 contaminants4.St. PetersburgFL
12 contaminants5.HialeahFL
12 contaminants6.Fort LauderdaleFL
12 contaminants7.Cape CoralFL
12 contaminants8.TallahasseeFL
12 contaminants9.West Palm BeachFL
12 contaminants10.New York CityNY
10 contaminants11.WichitaKS
10 contaminants12.MiamiFL
9 contaminants13.San FranciscoCA
9 contaminants14.FresnoCA
9 contaminants15.Long BeachCA
9 contaminants16.BakersfieldCA
9 contaminants17.FremontCA
9 contaminants18.JacksonMS
9 contaminants19.ModestoCA
9 contaminants20.GlendaleCA
9 contaminantsMethodology: State letter grades are not EPA grades — they reflect the percent of WaterCheckup city pages in that state with UCMR5 exceedance flags (A = 0–10% of those cities, B = 11–25%, C = 26–50%, D = 51–74%, F = 75% or more of those cities at risk). "Worst contaminant" is the analyte with the highest reported detection (ppt) among tracked cities in that state.