Updated August 2026
US beach water-quality rankings
3,000 monitored beaches carry an A–F Beach Safety Grade from EPA bacteria samples. 1,136 earn an A (Excellent); 352 earn an F (Failing). The lists below rank the cleanest water and the beaches that exceed the safe-swimming limit most often — 2026 snapshot.
National list
Cleanest beaches in the US
Top 50 high-confidence Grade A beaches, ranked by how rarely samples crossed the EPA limit.
National list
Beaches that exceed limits most
Top 50 high-confidence D and F beaches, ranked by the share of samples over the Beach Action Value.
By state
Best beaches in each state
Every coastal and Great Lakes state, ranked by the same water-quality grade.
Cleanest monitored beaches
Full top 50 →Beaches that flag advisories most
Full top 50 →Pleasure Beach-Bridgeport in Connecticut currently sits at the top of this list — 95.4% of samples over the limit across 414 results.
Common questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Bowman's Beach in Lee County, Florida currently leads the cleanest-water list — a Grade A built on 687 bacteria samples, with 0% over the EPA safe-swimming limit.
Each Beach Safety Grade is the share of EPA-reported bacteria samples that exceeded the Beach Action Value (Enterococcus 104 CFU/100 mL at saltwater and Great Lakes beaches, E. coli 235 CFU/100 mL at other freshwater beaches). The national lists use high-confidence grades only — enough samples, from more than one station, with recent results.
No. A grade is a multi-year track record. Water can spike after rain even at a Grade A beach. Check the official state or county advisory the day you swim.
Know before you go
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