EnviroNearby

Carteret County, North Carolina air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Carteret, North Carolina, 1994–2025.

96%
Good days in 2025
35
Median daily AQI, 2025
0
Days above 100 in 2025
345
Days with an AQI in 2025 (of 365)

In 2025, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Carteret, North Carolina on 345 days. 332 of those days (96%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 35. That median is lower than the typical monitored county in North Carolina (median 39 across 33 counties), and lower than the typical monitored U.S. county (40). The main pollutant was ozone on 345 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 79% in 1994–1996 versus 95% in 2023–2025.

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.

Share of monitored days in each AQI category, by year0%25%50%75%100%1994: Good 266 of 322 days1994: Moderate 47 of 322 days1994: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 8 of 322 days1994: Unhealthy 1 of 322 days19941995: Good 248 of 323 days1995: Moderate 69 of 323 days1995: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 6 of 323 days1996: Good 258 of 329 days1996: Moderate 63 of 329 days1996: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 8 of 329 days1997: Good 259 of 361 days1997: Moderate 81 of 361 days1997: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 20 of 361 days1997: Unhealthy 1 of 361 days1998: Good 250 of 360 days1998: Moderate 80 of 360 days1998: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 25 of 360 days1998: Unhealthy 5 of 360 days1999: Good 273 of 360 days1999: Moderate 68 of 360 days1999: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 19 of 360 days19992000: Good 278 of 362 days2000: Moderate 72 of 362 days2000: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 12 of 362 days2001: Good 294 of 359 days2001: Moderate 56 of 359 days2001: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 9 of 359 days2002: Good 304 of 364 days2002: Moderate 54 of 364 days2002: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 5 of 364 days2002: Unhealthy 1 of 364 days2003: Good 312 of 357 days2003: Moderate 38 of 357 days2003: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 7 of 357 days2004: Good 323 of 365 days2004: Moderate 39 of 365 days2004: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 3 of 365 days20042005: Good 287 of 359 days2005: Moderate 70 of 359 days2005: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 2 of 359 days2006: Good 294 of 357 days2006: Moderate 59 of 357 days2006: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 4 of 357 days2007: Good 307 of 354 days2007: Moderate 44 of 354 days2007: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 3 of 354 days2008: Good 205 of 216 days2008: Moderate 11 of 216 days2009: Good 291 of 309 days2009: Moderate 18 of 309 days20092010: Good 279 of 318 days2010: Moderate 38 of 318 days2010: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 1 of 318 days2011: Good 239 of 272 days2011: Moderate 33 of 272 days2012: Good 241 of 252 days2012: Moderate 11 of 252 days2013: Good 311 of 325 days2013: Moderate 14 of 325 days2014: Good 315 of 341 days2014: Moderate 26 of 341 days20142015: Good 300 of 318 days2015: Moderate 18 of 318 days2016: Good 308 of 327 days2016: Moderate 19 of 327 days2017: Good 330 of 341 days2017: Moderate 11 of 341 days2018: Good 202 of 222 days2018: Moderate 20 of 222 days2019: Good 239 of 259 days2019: Moderate 20 of 259 days20192020: Good 359 of 362 days2020: Moderate 3 of 362 days2021: Good 337 of 352 days2021: Moderate 15 of 352 days2022: Good 346 of 359 days2022: Moderate 13 of 359 days2023: Good 319 of 352 days2023: Moderate 31 of 352 days2023: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 2 of 352 days2024: Good 357 of 364 days2024: Moderate 7 of 364 days20242025: Good 332 of 345 days2025: Moderate 13 of 345 days2025
  • 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 and 90th-percentile daily AQI, by year0501001994: 90th percentile AQI 711995: 90th percentile AQI 771996: 90th percentile AQI 741997: 90th percentile AQI 841998: 90th percentile AQI 901999: 90th percentile AQI 872000: 90th percentile AQI 772001: 90th percentile AQI 672002: 90th percentile AQI 642003: 90th percentile AQI 582004: 90th percentile AQI 512005: 90th percentile AQI 672006: 90th percentile AQI 642007: 90th percentile AQI 582008: 90th percentile AQI 442009: 90th percentile AQI 482010: 90th percentile AQI 542011: 90th percentile AQI 512012: 90th percentile AQI 452013: 90th percentile AQI 452014: 90th percentile AQI 492015: 90th percentile AQI 462016: 90th percentile AQI 472017: 90th percentile AQI 462018: 90th percentile AQI 492019: 90th percentile AQI 502020: 90th percentile AQI 432021: 90th percentile AQI 472022: 90th percentile AQI 462023: 90th percentile AQI 502024: 90th percentile AQI 452025: 90th percentile AQI 461994: Median AQI 391995: Median AQI 351996: Median AQI 391997: Median AQI 411998: Median AQI 421999: Median AQI 412000: Median AQI 392001: Median AQI 382002: Median AQI 382003: Median AQI 382004: Median AQI 372005: Median AQI 382006: Median AQI 382007: Median AQI 372008: Median AQI 332009: Median AQI 352010: Median AQI 372011: Median AQI 392012: Median AQI 352013: Median AQI 342014: Median AQI 372015: Median AQI 372016: Median AQI 362017: Median AQI 352018: Median AQI 382019: Median AQI 372020: Median AQI 342021: Median AQI 352022: Median AQI 352023: Median AQI 382024: Median AQI 352025: Median AQI 3519941999200420092014201920242025
  • Median daily AQI
  • 90th-percentile daily AQI

Main pollutant by day, 2025

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.

PollutantDays as main pollutantShare of monitored days
Ozone345100%

Year-by-year data

Annual AQI summary by year
YearDays with AQIGoodModerateUnhealthy for Sensitive GroupsUnhealthyVery UnhealthyHazardousMedian AQI90th pct.Max AQIMain pollutant
2025345332130000354680Ozone
202436435770000354571Ozone
20233523193120003850105Ozone
2022359346130000354677Ozone
2021352337150000354797Ozone
202036235930000344361Ozone
2019259239200000375080Ozone
2018222202200000384977Ozone
2017341330110000354664Ozone
2016327308190000364793Ozone
2015318300180000374671Ozone
2014341315260000374993Ozone
2013325311140000344593Ozone
2012252241110000354584Ozone
2011272239330000395187Ozone
20103182793810003754101Ozone
2009309291180000354893Ozone
2008216205110000334480Ozone
20073543074430003758115Ozone
20063572945940003864108Ozone
20053592877020003867143Ozone
20043653233930003751143Ozone
20033573123870003858133Ozone
20023643045451003864161Ozone
20013592945690003867143Ozone
200036227872120003977147Ozone
199936027368190004187150Ozone
199836025080255004290179Ozone
199736125981201004184164Ozone
19963292586380003974143Ozone
19953232486960003577143Ozone
19943222664781003971154Ozone

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.

Counties in North Carolina with a similar median AQI in 2025

All monitored counties in North Carolina

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1994–2025 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem