Phoenix, Dallas Have America's Cleanest Air, Influx Of People

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Real estate firm Redfin just issued a report on the effects of air pollution on population migration. It considers how many people left a state or city against those who moved into the market from 2019 to 2022. It then compared these figures to air quality in the markets. Dallas and Phoenix topped the list of cities with a 0% chance of poor air quality and had the largest influx of those who moved to the cities compared to those who left during the period examined.

Worst Air— San Francisco Problem

Climate Problem— Malibu Storms

The study was titled “People Are Moving Out of Areas With Poor Air Quality, Often Because They’re Too Expensive.” The universe covered the 100 largest metros by population. According to the authors, Air quality was based on current data and forecasts for poor air quality days in 30 years. Air quality was based on 1) particulate matter (PM2.5), which often results from wildfire smoke, and 2) ozone (O3), which happens as pollutants react with heat/sunlight.

Dallas and Houston were among the 69 markets with zero homes at risk from poor air quality. For 2021 and 2022, the net population inflow for Phoenix was 109,951. For Dallas, the figure was 108,189. Both markets are relatively expensive. The median home price in Phoenix was $444,590. For Dallas, the number was $401,935. Both cities have been among the fastest-growing metros in America over the last decade.

Are these two cities climate-safe? No. Phoenix had over 90 days last year when the temperature was over 100 degrees F. Dallas also has a high-temperature problem and is often hit by strong summer storms. For air quality, they are perfect places to move.