America’s Top 50 Allergy Cities

2003 Ranking
CITY

FINAL
Score
Pollen Level
Score
(Average: 83.82)
Prescription
Score
(Average: 55.81)
Allergist
Score
(Average: 65.12)
1
 Louisville, KY
100
94.24
86.83
67.49
2
 Austin, TX
97.21
99.89
73.56
91.96
3
 St. Louis, MO
96.84
100
63.96
47.65
4
 Atlanta, GA
96.68
99.89
56.46
33.66
5
 Charlotte, NC
96.55
97.56
73.93
76.66
6
 Hartford-New Haven, CT
96.43
92.02
84.3
88.31
7
 Nashville, TN
96.11
84.26
95.36
79.55
8
 Raleigh-Durham-Fayetteville, NC
94.67
80.38
100
96.75
9
 Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, PA
94.14
83.37
88.89
62.25
10
 Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI
89.04
79.38
81.96
59.99
11
 Albuquerque-Santa Fe, NM
88.43
83.48
63.49
34.82
12
 Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX
88.1
86.92
69.76
75.03
13
 Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC
87.47
80.82
74.81
56.99
14
 Orlando-Daytona-Melbourne, FL
86.66
98.78
47.27
82.12
15
 Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, NC
85.39
83.7
70.23
91.83
16
 Birmingham-Tuscaloosa, AL
84.39
79.16
69.96
58.13
17
 Indianapolis, IN
84.14
79.71
62.62
41.44
18
 San Antonio, TX
83.87
87.69
58.6
82.02
19
 Jacksonville-Brunswick, FL
83.86
94.24
49.05
94.94
20
 Houston, TX
83.83
92.24
51.13
83.91
21
 Oklahoma City, OK
83.78
80.6
58.71
38.58
22
 Memphis, TN
83.74
83.15
66.32
86.25
23
 Kansas City, MO
83.37
80.16
68.1
69.86
24
 Phoenix, AZ
82.83
81.49
39.3
22.49
25
 Las Vegas, NV
82.41
80.93
9.65
12.53
26
 Baltimore, MD
81.54
88.69
52.08
92.08
27
 Boston, MA
81.25
88.14
47.97
62.62
28
 Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
80.56
80.6
50.78
39.15
29
 New York, NY
80.37
96.45
25.47
42.32
30
 Providence, RI
80.01
87.58
50.43
96.69
31
 New Orleans, LA
79.51
78.82
63.48
93.72
32
 Salt Lake City, UT
79.36
80.04
38.37
26.44
33
 Philadelphia, PA
78.44
83.59
51.2
79.56
34
 Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota, FL
78.35
88.8
41.79
75.93
35
 Pittsburgh, PA
78.12
82.04
49.09
58.14
36
 Columbus, OH
78
76.05
60.82
67.84
37
 Cleveland-Akron-Canton, OH
76.93
79.38
48.52
51.17
38
 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
76.82
76.83
59.49
89.49
39
 Detroit, MI
76.64
76.83
44.76
35.42
40
 Seattle-Tacoma, WA
75.96
76.5
40.41
31.23
41
 Chicago, IL
75.76
76.05
40.42
30.95
42
 Cincinnati, OH
74.69
76.27
54.71
87.1
43
 Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, CA
74.16
78.82
49.93
95.5
44
 Washington, DC
74.04
75.72
53.85
86.31
45
 Portland, OR
72.93
77.49
30.92
31.13
46
 Milwaukee, WI
72.62
76.16
46.89
68.02
47
 Norfolk-Portsmouth-Newport News, VA
70.98
76.05
45.4
85.71
48
 Denver, CO
67.92
79.27
25.58
51.1
49
 San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, CA
65.28
76.83
30.9
100
50
 Los Angeles, CA
64.71
74.06
22.97
42.99

© 2003 - Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

Rankings are based on an analysis of data from 2 groups of factors: Environmental Factors (Pollen Level Score) and Medical Factors (Prescription Score and Allergists Score). Weights were applied to each group of factors to reflect the relative importance as an indicator of how it affects quality of life of allergy sufferers.

The Pollen Level Score is based on the combined analysis of average recorded pollen levels over the last 7 years and the duration of the peak season for the most allergenically offensive pollen types. The Prescription Score is based on an analysis of recorded antihistamine prescriptions per 100,000 population over the past year. The Allergist Score is based on an analysis of the number of board certified allergists and immunologists per 100,000 population.

If you have questions or would like more information about the 2003 Allergy Capitals™ contact the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America at info@aafa.org or call toll-free 1-800-727-8462.


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