Rankings · Weather

Lowest light pollution by state

Annual upward radiance.

This measure has no better end. The order describes the states, it does not rank them — see the other direction.

Annual mean upward radiance within county boundaries, in nanowatts per square centimetre per steradian. VIIRS measures artificial light emitted upward to the satellite; lower values generally mean less upward light. It does not measure skyglow overhead, a Bortle class, or how dark a particular yard appears — clouds, terrain and nearby sources can differ. NASA Black Marble annual composite, 2025.

  1. 1Wyoming0.2 nW/cm²/sr
  2. 2Montana0.3 nW/cm²/sr
  3. 3Vermont0.4 nW/cm²/sr
  4. 4Maine0.8 nW/cm²/sr
  5. 5North Dakota1.1 nW/cm²/sr
  6. 6South Dakota1.4 nW/cm²/sr
  7. 7Alaska1.4 nW/cm²/sr
  8. 8New Hampshire1.9 nW/cm²/sr
  9. 9West Virginia2.0 nW/cm²/sr
  10. 10Idaho2.1 nW/cm²/sr
  11. 11Mississippi2.3 nW/cm²/sr
  12. 12New Mexico2.4 nW/cm²/sr
  13. 13Arkansas2.6 nW/cm²/sr
  14. 14Oregon3.1 nW/cm²/sr
  15. 15Washington3.3 nW/cm²/sr
  16. 16Alabama3.6 nW/cm²/sr
  17. 17Iowa3.9 nW/cm²/sr
  18. 18Arizona4.0 nW/cm²/sr
  19. 19South Carolina4.1 nW/cm²/sr
  20. 20Nevada4.3 nW/cm²/sr
  21. 21Hawaii4.4 nW/cm²/sr
  22. 22Connecticut5.6 nW/cm²/sr
  23. 23Louisiana6.5 nW/cm²/sr
  24. 24Rhode Island6.8 nW/cm²/sr
  25. 25Kansas7.0 nW/cm²/sr
  26. 26Kentucky7.2 nW/cm²/sr
  27. 27Utah7.2 nW/cm²/sr
  28. 28North Carolina7.8 nW/cm²/sr
  29. 29Minnesota7.8 nW/cm²/sr
  30. 30Tennessee7.9 nW/cm²/sr
  31. 31Oklahoma8.4 nW/cm²/sr
  32. 32Colorado8.4 nW/cm²/sr
  33. 33Delaware8.6 nW/cm²/sr
  34. 34Indiana9.0 nW/cm²/sr
  35. 35Wisconsin9.3 nW/cm²/sr
  36. 36California10 nW/cm²/sr
  37. 37Michigan10 nW/cm²/sr
  38. 38Florida11 nW/cm²/sr
  39. 39Missouri11 nW/cm²/sr
  40. 40Nebraska11 nW/cm²/sr
  41. 41Ohio12 nW/cm²/sr
  42. 42Massachusetts12 nW/cm²/sr
  43. 43Georgia12 nW/cm²/sr
  44. 44Virginia13 nW/cm²/sr
  45. 45Pennsylvania14 nW/cm²/sr
  46. 46Maryland16 nW/cm²/sr
  47. 47Texas20 nW/cm²/sr
  48. 48New Jersey23 nW/cm²/sr
  49. 49Illinois26 nW/cm²/sr
  50. 50New York35 nW/cm²/sr
  51. 51District of Columbia68 nW/cm²/sr
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Source: NASA Black Marble VNP46A4 / VIIRS. · How this is built