Catawba County, North Carolina air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Catawba, North Carolina, 1992–2025.

69%

Good days in 2025

Median daily AQI, 2025

Days above 100 in 2025

347

Days with an AQI in 2025 (of 365)

In 2025, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Catawba, North Carolina on 347 days. 239 of those days (69%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 42. That median is higher than the typical monitored county in North Carolina (median 39 across 33 counties), and about the same as the typical monitored U.S. county (40). The main pollutant was fine particles (PM2.5) on 347 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 22% in 2001–2004 versus 65% in 2023–2025.

Years with fewer than 120 monitored days (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003…) 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, 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.

Pollutant	Days as main pollutant	Share of monitored days
Fine particles (PM2.5)	347	100%

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	347	239	108	0	0	42	58	88	PM2.5
2024	350	232	118	0	0	42	58	93	PM2.5
2023	347	212	132	3	0	43	61	115	PM2.5
2022	355	234	121	0	0	44	59	81	PM2.5
2021	344	197	147	0	0	46	61	94	PM2.5
2020	357	247	110	0	0	42	58	95	PM2.5
2019	361	215	146	0	0	44	59	74	PM2.5
2018	352	226	126	0	0	43	60	80	PM2.5
2017	348	203	145	0	0	44	61	88	PM2.5
2016	358	194	161	1	2	48	61	154	PM2.5
2015	347	167	180	0	0	52	64	84	PM2.5
2014	363	213	150	0	0	47	59	87	PM2.5
2013	364	212	152	0	0	44	59	75	PM2.5
2012	339	154	185	0	0	51	60	82	PM2.5
2011	365	139	226	0	0	53	68	94	PM2.5
2010	363	133	230	0	0	54	69	90	PM2.5
2009	362	133	229	0	0	53	67	89	PM2.5
2008	365	90	275	0	0	59	76	97	PM2.5
2007	365	73	286	5	1	62	85	167	PM2.5
2006	353	72	273	6	2	60	81	172	PM2.5
2005	128	24	101	3	0	65	87	120	PM2.5
2004	131	28	100	3	0	61	82	114	PM2.5
2003	119	26	90	3	0	63	79	114	PM2.5
2002	120	23	95	2	0	62	85	114	PM2.5
2001	123	30	92	1	0	60	82	112	PM2.5
2000	118	15	99	4	0	63	91	148	PM2.5
1999	118	25	91	2	0	64	90	115	PM2.5
1998	58	58	0	0	0	20	35	44	PM10
1997	61	60	1	0	0	21	34	51	PM10
1996	57	56	1	0	0	22	34	51	PM10
1995	58	57	1	0	0	20	33	51	PM10
1994	55	54	1	0	0	22	36	53	PM10
1993	55	54	1	0	0	25	41	55	PM10
1992	12	12	0	0	0	27	38	47	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.

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 1992–2025 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem