Texas has nation’s most toxic air and polluted water, study finds

While Texas leaders often trumped the state’s lax environmental regulation as a boon for its economy, the study cautions that that the same lack oversight and enforcement may harm businesses rather than encourage economic growth.

To get its results, SimplerQMS analyzed each U.S. state’s air quality and drinking water between 2021 and 2025 using Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data.

Analysts then ranked each state using a “Pollution Risk Score,” which tracked factors including the number of pollution days exceeding safety limits, the total number of drinking water violations and the percentage of the state’s population exposed to unsafe air and water quality.

About 66% of Texas’ population is exposed to unsafe air quality, according to the report, while regulators issued 15,340 water violations during the time being analyzed. That landed the Lone Star State a Pollution Risk Score of 60.26.

“Texas shows us what happens when industrial growth outpaces environmental oversight,” SimplerQMS founder Allan Bruun said in a statement. “You’re looking at two-thirds of residents breathing dangerous air while thousands of water safety standards get violated.”

Despite California’s strict environmental regulations, the Golden State ranked as the second-most-polluted state. It tallied 526 high-pollution days and 1,690 water violations. Oklahoma came in third.

Bruun warns that unsafe air and drinking water ultimately could present problems for any state trying to attract new industry.

“From a compliance perspective, this creates enormous challenges for industries requiring clean environments,” he said. “Pharmaceutical manufacturers need stringent quality controls, but when the baseline environment is contaminated, maintaining standards becomes exponentially more difficult.”

For reference, Texas is a leading state in terms of the number of pharmaceutical jobs and research, employing nearly 14,000 people.

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This article appears in May 14-27, 2025.