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03/2023

The purpose of this study was to examine rates of air pollution between rural and urban census tracts. In addition, urban-rural disparities in exposure to polluted air across Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-defined regions were examined. Air quality monitoring station data from the EPA's Air Quality System web portal for the years 2000 to 2020 were used to examine variations of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) and ozone levels in the air at the census tract level.

Key Findings:

PM2.5

• Rural census tracts had significantly lower levels of PM2.5 than urban tracts in the majority of EPA regions in all years investigated (2010, 2014, and 2019).
• Census tracts with a larger proportion of racial minoritized residents had significantly higher levels of PM2.5 in all years investigated.
• Census tracts with lower educational attainment had significantly higher levels of PM2.5 in all years investigated.

Ozone

• Rurality was generally not significantly associated with ozone levels in all years investigated (2010, 2014, and 2019). However, there were three exceptions to this rule: ozone was significantly higher in rural areas in region 9, in 2010; significantly lower in rural areas in region 8, in 2014; and significantly lower in rural areas in region 1, in 2019.
• In all three years evaluated, recreation counties had significantly lower levels of ozone than nonspecialized counties (reference level), counties with lower education had significantly higher levels of ozone, and counties with higher retirement had significantly higher levels of ozone.

Rural and Minority Health Research Center

Daniel Kilpatrick, Jeremy Cothran, Stella Self, Dwayne Porter, Peiyin Hung, Elizabeth Crouch, Nicholas Yell, Jan Eberth

Environmental and agricultural health, Health disparities and health equity, Public health, Social determinants of health