Are you traveling to an ‘allergy capital’ this spring break? See how Florida cities rank
Are you sneezing a lot?
It could be signs of a cold, ready to mess up your spring break plans. But it could also be allergies.
Itchy eyes and a congested nose are common in spring, although some parts of the country tend to have a worse allergy season than others. Some areas, including Florida, tend to see allergies year-round.
People can be allergic to a lot of things: mold, pet dander, insect bites, dust, food, different types of pollen. Some may suffer from seasonal allergies. Others may be sniffling all the time due to year-round allergies.
All that sneezing can make your spring break travel plans miserable. And the allergy situation was pretty rough last year in Jacksonville, which snagged a spot in a recently released Top 20 list for “allergy capitals” in the nation.
The 2025 Asthma and Allergy Foundation Top 20 list is based on pollen scores for trees, grass, weed pollen, over-the-counter allergy medication use, and number of allergy specialists in the 100 most-populated U.S. cities. The lower the ranking, the worse the allergy situation was in the city.
The report, which analyzes the pollen situation in the 100 most-populated U.S. cities, is meant to provide insight on “where the burden of seasonal allergies falls,” Hannah Jaffee, the foundation’s research director, told the Miami Herald in an email. This year’s report also shows how climate change is worsening allergy season across the country, particularly in the southern and eastern U.S., according to the foundation.
Florida allergy capital rankings
Other Florida metropolitan areas, including last year’s allergy capitals Orlando and Sarasota, scored “worse than average” for pollen allergies compared overall to the rest of the nation. But the allergy situation wasn’t as bad as in other cities, keeping them off the Top 20 leader board.
The No. 1 spot was Wichita, Kansas, for the third year in a row, making it the “most challenging city for pollen allergies” in the 2025 report, followed by New Orleans and Oklahoma City.
Miami — which last year saw an intense pollen season — received an overall score of “average,” plunging its rank to No. 65 on the list, compared to last year’s No. 48.
While Miami’s No. 65 ranking indicates that the area’s pollen situation is not as bad compared to other cities in the country, it doesn’t necessarily mean people allergic to pollen won’t experience congested and runny noses. There’s a lot of pollen circulating in South Florida right now, as the Herald has previously reported.
Jaffee says the ranking change was caused by several factors. Miami, Orlando and Sarasota, for example, received lower scores for tree pollen compared to the previous report. But a lot of other cities saw “big changes” in their scoring this time around, causing them to rise and push down Florida cities, she said. New Orleans, for example, jumped from No. 34 to No. 2 this year.
“New Orleans is an example of the impact of climate change on pollen allergies,” Kenneth Mendez, the foundation’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “This year, it jumped 32 places in our rankings, largely because of higher weed pollen counts. November was the warmest on record in Louisiana, extending the weed pollen season that was also boosted by moisture from Hurricane Francine. Across the nation, growing seasons start earlier and last longer — leading to longer and more intense pollen allergy seasons. This report highlights the importance of taking action.”
Los Angeles and other California cities also dramatically jumped to higher rankings from last year due to much higher grass and weed pollen fueled by wet weather, the report states.
And Florida? Jacksonville jumped from No. 71 to No. 20 in this year’s report. That’s because while the city received an overall “average” rating for pollen, it had one of the highest weed pollen scores in this year’s report compared to the other cities, according to Jaffee. The city also received higher scores for tree, weed and grass pollen compared to last year and was rated “worse than average” for over-the-counter allergy medicine use.
Which cities are the best for allergy sufferers?
Boston, Massachusetts; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Akron, Ohio. They ranked No. 100, No. 99 and No. 98 on the 2025 report, respectively, making them some of the best places to live for people allergic to pollen, the foundation says.
MORE: What’s the Miami allergy forecast? Just follow the sneezing — and the weather pattern
Tips to reduce allergy symptoms
For those who live in or plan to travel to cities deemed problematic for people with allergies, there are several things you can do to reduce your itchy, sneezing, runny and congested symptoms. Here are some tips:
▪ The foundation recommends using Accuweather’s Allergy Forecast to see areas that might be hit hard this year. You can also turn to pollen counting apps like Pollen Wise for real-time data. The Weather Channel also has a 15-day allergy forecast that ranks a ZIP Code’s allergy risk from very low to very high, with a three-day pollen breakdown for tree pollen, grass pollen and ragweed pollen.
▪ Speak with your doctor about taking an allergy test to help identify if your allergy or asthma symptoms are triggered by pet dander, mold, pollen or other common allergens. Knowing what causes your “achoo” is the first step to figuring out how to treat it.
▪ Shower after being outdoors and change your clothes to remove any pollen you might have picked up outside, according to the Weather Channel. And keep windows and doors closed to avoid pollen being blown into your home.
▪ Worried about allergies ruining your vacation? If you know certain types of pollen aggravate your allergies or asthma, do research before booking a trip. “For example, if you’re allergic to ragweed, New York can be significantly better in early August compared to later in the month,” according to the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.
You can also consider traveling to beaches and mountains. These locations “are excellent year-round destinations for allergy sufferers. Ocean breezes are generally free of allergens, dust mites are fewer at elevations above 2,500 feet, and mold spores can’t survive in snow,” according to the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology.
That’s good news for us in South Florida.
You can do a beach staycation, or even a beach day, whenever you want in Miami Beach, the Florida Keys, Key Biscayne and Fort Lauderdale.
Check other city rankings
To see the entire 2025 allergy capital report, and for more tips on how to reduce allergy symptoms, visit allergycapitals.org
READ MORE: ‘Everybody is getting sick.’ Flu is on the rise in Florida — and here’s what doctors say
