Asthma Capitals
2026 Asthma Capitals®
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America’s (AAFA) Asthma Capitals® report ranks the largest 100 cities in the contiguous (“lower 48”) U.S. by how challenging they are to live in when you have asthma. AAFA publishes this report to show the nationwide burden of asthma. It is a call to action to help the nearly 28 million people in the U.S. with asthma.
Asthma is greatly influenced by where someone lives. People who have affordable and accessible health care, clean air, and economic stability have a greater chance of managing and controlling their asthma. The report ranks cities based on: asthma rates, emergency room visits, and deaths. These outcomes are influenced by various risk factors that can make asthma harder to manage and control.
Asthma Capitals 2026
Hover over each state to see more information about cities that rank in this year’s report.
The colors on the map indicate if the state has cities in the top #1 spot, top 20, rank 21-100, or has no Asthma Capital. 
Report Ranking Criteria
The Asthma Capitals report ranking is based on 3 health outcomes.
Report Ranking Criteria
The Asthma Capitals report ranking is based on 3 health outcomes.
Risk Factors
Social and environmental influences can worsen asthma rates and increase the risk of emergencies and deaths related to asthma. The report analyzes the following risk factors:
Risk Factors
Social and environmental influences can worsen asthma rates and increase the risk of emergencies and deaths related to asthma. The report analyzes the following risk factors:
About the Report
AAFA publishes the Asthma Capitals® report to monitor the nationwide impacts of asthma. The report analyzes asthma data across the United States and ranks cities by the most critical of health outcomes – asthma prevalence, emergency department visits due to asthma attacks, and asthma-related mortality. The outcomes are not weighted equally. The report also examines asthma risk factors that influence the outcomes.
AAFA only evaluates the top 100 populated places (based on metropolitan statistical areas or MSAs) in the contiguous (“lower 48”) states for this report. MSAs are cities and their surrounding areas (like suburbs and nearby rural areas). The report does not reflect:
- Cities and areas not in the top 100 list by population size
- Completely rural areas that are not located within a metropolitan statistical area
- Anchorage, Alaska, Honolulu, Hawaii, or San Juan, Puerto Rico, Navajo Nation Reservation, or Cherokee Nation Reservation due to lack of matching data with other cities, counties, state
Acknowledgements
The 2026 Asthma Capitals report is an independent research project of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and made possible by support from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Chiesi, and Sanofi and Regeneron. AAFA also thanks Komodo Health and Pollen Sense, LLC for additional support for data used in this report. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the AAFA authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of the sponsors or other individuals, organizations, or companies.
Recommended Citation
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, (2026). 2026 Asthma Capitals®. Retrieved from asthmacapitals.org.
