Pottawattamie County, Iowa air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Pottawattamie, Iowa, 1985–2025.

52%

Good days in 2023

Median daily AQI, 2023

Days above 100 in 2023

122

Days with an AQI in 2023 (of 365)

In 2023, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Pottawattamie, Iowa on 122 days. 64 of those days (52%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 49. That median is about the same as the typical monitored county in Iowa (median 49 across 13 counties), and higher than the typical monitored U.S. county (43). The main pollutant was fine particles (PM2.5) on 121 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 49% in 2001–2003 versus 65% in 2021–2023.

EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2023 here (122 of 365 days). Figures describe monitored days only; seasonal monitoring (for example, ozone measured only in warmer months) can make a county look cleaner or dirtier than a full-year record would.

Years with fewer than 120 monitored days (1999, 2000, 2011, 2014, 2024, 2025…) are shown in the table but left out of comparisons and trend statements.

How the days broke down each year

Each bar is one year. The colored segments show the share of monitored days that fell in each AQI category.

Good
Moderate
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Unhealthy
Very Unhealthy
Hazardous

Typical and high-end AQI over time

The median is the middle day of the year. The 90th percentile is the level that only the highest 10% of days exceeded.

Median daily AQI
90th-percentile daily AQI

Main pollutant by day, 2023

On each monitored day, the AQI reflects whichever measured pollutant had the highest index. This counts how many days each pollutant set the AQI. A pollutant that was not measured here cannot appear.

Pollutant	Days as main pollutant	Share of monitored days
Fine particles (PM2.5)	121	99%
Coarse particles (PM10)	1	1%

Year-by-year data

Annual AQI summary by year
Year	Days with AQI	Good	Moderate	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Unhealthy	Median AQI	90th pct.	Max AQI	Main pollutant
2025	118	83	35	0	0	37	57	87	PM2.5
2024	117	77	40	0	0	42	59	75	PM2.5
2023	122	64	57	0	1	49	65	151	PM2.5
2022	121	91	30	0	0	37	56	72	PM2.5
2021	124	83	40	1	0	44	62	117	PM2.5
2020	124	85	39	0	0	41	58	80	PM2.5
2019	130	93	37	0	0	38	58	73	PM2.5
2018	124	80	43	1	0	42	61	102	PM2.5
2017	127	80	47	0	0	43	61	74	PM2.5
2016	137	106	31	0	0	36	55	71	PM2.5
2015	122	81	41	0	0	43	59	84	PM2.5
2014	119	71	47	1	0	46	63	111	PM2.5
2013	129	69	60	0	0	46	65	88	PM2.5
2012	121	51	70	0	0	52	70	99	PM2.5
2011	119	56	63	0	0	52	64	94	PM2.5
2010	247	171	75	1	0	32	64	134	PM10
2009	241	185	55	1	0	31	59	129	PM10
2008	235	165	70	0	0	31	59	89	PM10
2007	174	101	71	2	0	45	64	134	PM2.5
2006	179	107	72	0	0	44	66	84	PM2.5
2005	355	237	117	1	0	37	66	141	PM10
2004	301	213	86	2	0	36	61	108	PM10
2003	122	56	66	0	0	52	70	90	PM2.5
2002	123	60	63	0	0	51	68	91	PM2.5
2001	120	62	58	0	0	50	67	93	PM2.5
2000	118	63	55	0	0	48	67	94	PM2.5
1999	51	21	30	0	0	53	69	83	PM2.5
1988	20	19	1	0	0	20	49	53	PM10
1987	59	51	8	0	0	27	53	65	PM10
1986	57	51	6	0	0	26	54	62	PM10
1985	5	5	0	0	0	14	19	19	PM10

What this data can and can’t tell you

It is a county-level summary. EPA reports one AQI per day for the county, based on the monitors operating there. Air at a particular street, school or home can differ, especially near roads, industry or wildfire smoke.

It is not a health assessment. The AQI is EPA’s scale for communicating daily air quality. A county’s history can’t tell you what the health risk is for any particular person. For daily conditions and health guidance, see AirNow.

Rules change over time. EPA has revised AQI breakpoints, most recently for fine particles in 2024, so some year-to-year change can reflect the scale rather than the air.

All monitored counties in Iowa

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1985–2025 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem