Essex County, New Jersey air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Essex, New Jersey, 1980–2022.

66%

Good days in 2022

Median daily AQI, 2022

Days above 100 in 2022

269

Days with an AQI in 2022 (of 365)

In 2022, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Essex, New Jersey on 269 days. 177 of those days (66%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 44. That median is about the same as the typical monitored county in New Jersey (median 42 across 16 counties), and higher than the typical monitored U.S. county (41). The main pollutant was fine particles (PM2.5) on 127 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 44% in 1980–1982 versus 62% in 2020–2022.

EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2022 here (269 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.

The most recent year with data for this county is 2022; EPA's files for 2023–2025 contain no row for it, which usually means its monitors stopped reporting.

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, 2022

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)	127	47%
Ozone	109	41%
Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂)	32	12%
Carbon monoxide (CO)	1	<1%

Year-by-year data

Annual AQI summary by year
Year	Days with AQI	Good	Moderate	Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	Unhealthy	Very Unhealthy	Median AQI	90th pct.	Max AQI	Main pollutant
2022	269	177	92	0	0	0	44	61	97	PM2.5
2021	365	214	148	3	0	0	46	63	125	PM2.5
2020	366	226	139	1	0	0	44	62	127	PM2.5
2019	365	206	159	0	0	0	47	65	100	PM2.5
2018	364	219	141	3	1	0	43	67	177	PM2.5
2017	365	223	141	1	0	0	44	62	101	PM2.5
2016	366	217	146	3	0	0	46	64	136	PM2.5
2015	365	283	77	5	0	0	39	65	112	Ozone
2014	365	258	102	5	0	0	43	63	116	NO2
2013	365	244	119	2	0	0	43	66	126	PM2.5
2012	366	190	163	13	0	0	50	78	140	PM2.5
2011	363	196	153	12	2	0	49	72	164	PM2.5
2010	365	226	122	14	3	0	45	80	164	Ozone
2009	365	300	64	1	0	0	38	56	105	NO2
2008	362	311	51	0	0	0	34	55	92	NO2
2007	359	267	91	1	0	0	37	67	104	NO2
2006	348	256	87	5	0	0	41	66	127	NO2
2005	364	241	117	6	0	0	42	72	120	NO2
2004	354	243	106	5	0	0	42	70	114	NO2
2003	354	208	143	3	0	0	46	71	127	NO2
2002	365	183	159	15	8	0	50	87	187	NO2
2001	362	221	136	4	0	1	46	74	203	NO2
2000	358	203	150	4	1	0	47	74	158	NO2
1999	365	150	190	19	4	2	54	87	207	NO2
1998	365	183	163	15	4	0	50	81	179	NO2
1997	365	201	146	13	5	0	48	79	200	NO2
1996	365	192	158	14	1	0	50	80	172	NO2
1995	365	198	143	16	6	2	49	82	205	NO2
1994	365	155	186	20	4	0	54	90	169	NO2
1993	364	175	172	17	0	0	51	84	150	NO2
1992	366	181	169	14	2	0	52	82	164	NO2
1991	365	169	162	26	8	0	53	95	195	NO2
1990	364	166	174	19	4	1	52	88	212	NO2
1989	365	187	148	27	3	0	50	94	187	NO2
1988	366	126	175	47	10	8	60	108	242	NO2
1987	364	112	194	46	7	5	66	104	245	NO2
1986	364	185	163	16	0	0	50	82	147	NO2
1985	365	176	147	32	7	3	51	102	212	NO2
1984	339	202	134	3	0	0	46	76	103	NO2
1983	357	157	116	56	17	11	57	129	227	NO2
1982	343	142	159	34	8	0	56	103	200	NO2
1981	363	164	154	35	8	2	56	103	216	NO2
1980	350	154	143	36	11	6	55	115	215	NO2

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 New Jersey

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1980–2022 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem