State ranking · updated 2026-11-09

PFAS in Tap Water by State: Share of Cities Above the Limit (2026)

50 states ranked by share of city reports with a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit, from public EPA records (EPA UCMR 5 (2024)). It ranks the published record, not which water is safest.

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Quick answer

New Jersey tops this list in 2026

New Jersey is first, at 65% (share of city reports with a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit). Alaska (60%), Delaware (58%), Connecticut (58%) and South Carolina (48%) follow. Hawaii (0%) and North Dakota (0%) are last on this list.

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The ranking

All 50 ranked states

1 states excluded. States with fewer than 4 city reports on record are excluded rather than shown with an unstable percentage. Excluded states are not scored as favourable.

Methodology and limitations

How this snapshot is built

How this snapshot is built
For each state, the share of PurityMap city reports that had a PFAS sample above a 2024 EPA limit (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA or GenX) in EPA's UCMR 5 testing. EPA's 2024 limits are judged on a yearly average, and water systems have until 2029 to meet them, so a single sample is not a violation. States are ordered by that share, highest first, then by count.
Reading the order
UCMR 5 sampled larger public systems; a state share reflects the cities on record, not every private well or small system. Levels at a tap depend on the local supplier and plumbing.
Exclusions
1 excluded. States with fewer than 4 city reports on record are excluded rather than shown with an unstable percentage.

Read with care

Comparable does not mean complete.

This ranking compares states on one measure. It never replaces a full system report, a city-resolution check, or a certified household test, and missing monitoring is excluded, never scored as favourable.

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