The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has released the 2008 list of the worst cities for spring allergies.
The top ten cities with the worst spring allergy conditions are:
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Greensboro, North Carolina
- Johnson City, Tennessee
- Augusta, Georgia
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Knoxville, Tennessee
- Birmingham, Alabama
- New Orleans, Louisiana
- Little Rock, Arkansas
- San Diego, California
Looks to me like the South is in for a bad time with allergies this spring. More than half of the top ten are in what I’d consider southern states.
How do they pick the worst cities for allergies? Four factors are involved: general allergy prevalence, local pollen counts, allergy medication use, and the number of allergy specialists per patient. Rankings can change from one year to another — this year’s worst was in 52nd place last year.
My new hometown of Portland, Oregon comes in towards the end of the list, but it’s still up there: number 93 out of 100.
If you are an allergy sufferer and you live in one of these “worst” cities, you may have a tougher time managing your symptoms this spring. Talk to your health care provider or allergy specialist for ways to help ease your symptoms.
Here are the rest of the top 100 spring allergy cities.
- 11. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- 12. Mobile, Alabama
- 13. South Bend, Indiana
- 14. Omaha, Nebraska
- 15. Stockton, California
- 16. McAllen, Texas
- 17. Greenville, South Carolina
- 18. Nashville, Tennessee
- 19. Tulsa, Oklahoma
- 20. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- 21. Louisville, Kentucky
- 22. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
- 23. Charlotte, North Carolina
- 24. Tampa, Florida
- 25. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 26. St. Louis, Missouri
- 27. Scranton, Pennsylvania
- 28. Lansing, Michigan
- 29. Madison, Wisconsin
- 30. Rochester, New York
- 31. Daytona Beach, Florida
- 32. Memphis, Tennessee
- 33. Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- 34. Norfolk, Virginia
- 35. Pensacola, Florida
- 36. Charleston, South Carolina
- 37. Cleveland, Ohio
- 38. Indianapolis, Indiana
- 39. Houston, Texas
- 40. Lakeland, Florida
- 41. Baltimore, Maryland
- 42. Sacramento, California
- 43. Columbia, South Carolina
- 44. Kansas City, Missouri
- 45. New York, New York
- 46. San Antonio, Texas
- 47. Allentown, Pennsylvania
- 48. Wichita, Kansas
- 49. Albuquerque, New Mexico
- 50. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- 51. Washington, D.C.
- 52. Providence, Rhode Island
- 53. Fort Wayne, Indiana
- 54. Austin, Texas
- 55. Canton, Ohio
- 56. Atlanta, Georgia
- 57. Kalamazoo, Michigan
- 58. Chattanooga, Tennessee
- 59. Boston, Massachusetts
- 60. Detroit, Michigan
- 61. Grand Rapids, Michigan
- 62. Hartford, Connecticut
- 63. Denver, Colorado
- 64. Dayton, Ohio
- 65. Tucson, Arizona
- 66. Buffalo, New York
- 67. Des Moines, Iowa
- 68. Syracuse, New York
- 69. Salt Lake City, Utah
- 70. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
- 71. Cincinnati, Ohio
- 72. Columbus, Ohio
- 73. Chicago, Illinois
- 74. Boise City, Idaho
- 75. Albany, New York
- 76. El Paso, Texas
- 77. Richmond, Virginia
- 78. Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- 79. Las Vegas, Nevada
- 80. Jacksonville, Florida
- 81. Melbourne, Florida
- 82. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- 83. Miami, Florida
- 84. Toledo, Ohio
- 85. Modesto, California
- 86. Los Angeles, California
- 87. Springfield, Massachusetts
- 88. Youngstown, Ohio
- 89. Colorado Springs, Colorado
- 90. Seattle, Washington
- 91. Phoenix-Mesa, Arizona
- 92. Fresno, California
- 93. Portland, Oregon
- 94. Fort Myers, Florida
- 95. Orlando, Florida
- 96. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
- 97. Sarasota, Florida
- 98. Bakersfield, California
- 99. San Francisco, California
- 100. Spokane, Washington