Despite efforts by major cities in the U.S. to clean up air pollution levels, at least 60% of Americans live in areas with unhealthy air pollution levels. Unhealthy air can lead to a poor quality of life, including health problems. In fact, dirty air can lead to emergency room visits, poor lung development in children, and even death in some cases.
If you’re looking to breath in some cleaner air, consider one of these cities, which ranked well on the air quality index and air pollution index on CNN's Best Places to Live list in 2012.