EnviroNearby

Macon County, North Carolina air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Macon, North Carolina, 1990–2025.

97%
Good days in 2025
32
Median daily AQI, 2025
0
Days above 100 in 2025
348
Days with an AQI in 2025 (of 365)

In 2025, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Macon, North Carolina on 348 days. 336 of those days (97%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 32. 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 348 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 86% in 1990–1992 versus 96% 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%1990: Good 287 of 360 days1990: Moderate 67 of 360 days1990: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 6 of 360 days19901991: Good 318 of 359 days1991: Moderate 37 of 359 days1991: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 4 of 359 days1992: Good 319 of 360 days1992: Moderate 37 of 360 days1992: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 4 of 360 days1993: Good 297 of 354 days1993: Moderate 53 of 354 days1993: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 4 of 354 days1994: Good 307 of 363 days1994: Moderate 50 of 363 days1994: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 6 of 363 days1995: Good 291 of 356 days1995: Moderate 60 of 356 days1995: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 5 of 356 days19951996: Good 300 of 362 days1996: Moderate 58 of 362 days1996: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 4 of 362 days1997: Good 296 of 361 days1997: Moderate 62 of 361 days1997: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 3 of 361 days1998: Good 249 of 333 days1998: Moderate 73 of 333 days1998: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 10 of 333 days1998: Unhealthy 1 of 333 days1999: Good 237 of 355 days1999: Moderate 102 of 355 days1999: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 15 of 355 days1999: Unhealthy 1 of 355 days2000: Good 271 of 359 days2000: Moderate 77 of 359 days2000: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 9 of 359 days2000: Unhealthy 2 of 359 days20002001: Good 299 of 357 days2001: Moderate 49 of 357 days2001: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 9 of 357 days2002: Good 303 of 362 days2002: Moderate 51 of 362 days2002: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 8 of 362 days2003: Good 324 of 356 days2003: Moderate 30 of 356 days2003: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 2 of 356 days2004: Good 327 of 354 days2004: Moderate 26 of 354 days2004: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 1 of 354 days2005: Good 307 of 349 days2005: Moderate 37 of 349 days2005: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 5 of 349 days20052006: Good 300 of 358 days2006: Moderate 58 of 358 days2007: Good 314 of 353 days2007: Moderate 36 of 353 days2007: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 3 of 353 days2008: Good 223 of 229 days2008: Moderate 6 of 229 days2009: Good 315 of 334 days2009: Moderate 19 of 334 days2010: Good 323 of 356 days2010: Moderate 31 of 356 days2010: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 2 of 356 days20102011: Good 296 of 328 days2011: Moderate 32 of 328 days2012: Good 334 of 354 days2012: Moderate 20 of 354 days2013: Good 330 of 346 days2013: Moderate 16 of 346 days2014: Good 333 of 355 days2014: Moderate 22 of 355 days2015: Good 335 of 352 days2015: Moderate 17 of 352 days20152016: Good 321 of 345 days2016: Moderate 23 of 345 days2016: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups 1 of 345 days2017: Good 335 of 347 days2017: Moderate 12 of 347 days2018: Good 340 of 356 days2018: Moderate 16 of 356 days2019: Good 343 of 358 days2019: Moderate 15 of 358 days2020: Good 358 of 360 days2020: Moderate 2 of 360 days20202021: Good 347 of 359 days2021: Moderate 12 of 359 days2022: Good 349 of 360 days2022: Moderate 11 of 360 days2023: Good 342 of 361 days2023: Moderate 19 of 361 days2024: Good 348 of 362 days2024: Moderate 14 of 362 days2025: Good 336 of 348 days2025: Moderate 12 of 348 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 year0501001990: 90th percentile AQI 711991: 90th percentile AQI 511992: 90th percentile AQI 541993: 90th percentile AQI 671994: 90th percentile AQI 671995: 90th percentile AQI 641996: 90th percentile AQI 611997: 90th percentile AQI 611998: 90th percentile AQI 801999: 90th percentile AQI 872000: 90th percentile AQI 712001: 90th percentile AQI 612002: 90th percentile AQI 612003: 90th percentile AQI 492004: 90th percentile AQI 492005: 90th percentile AQI 582006: 90th percentile AQI 612007: 90th percentile AQI 512008: 90th percentile AQI 432009: 90th percentile AQI 472010: 90th percentile AQI 502011: 90th percentile AQI 502012: 90th percentile AQI 462013: 90th percentile AQI 462014: 90th percentile AQI 472015: 90th percentile AQI 452016: 90th percentile AQI 482017: 90th percentile AQI 462018: 90th percentile AQI 452019: 90th percentile AQI 462020: 90th percentile AQI 412021: 90th percentile AQI 442022: 90th percentile AQI 452023: 90th percentile AQI 462024: 90th percentile AQI 452025: 90th percentile AQI 441990: Median AQI 411991: Median AQI 351992: Median AQI 361993: Median AQI 381994: Median AQI 371995: Median AQI 381996: Median AQI 391997: Median AQI 391998: Median AQI 401999: Median AQI 442000: Median AQI 422001: Median AQI 382002: Median AQI 362003: Median AQI 342004: Median AQI 332005: Median AQI 362006: Median AQI 372007: Median AQI 352008: Median AQI 312009: Median AQI 332010: Median AQI 362011: Median AQI 382012: Median AQI 352013: Median AQI 322014: Median AQI 322015: Median AQI 322016: Median AQI 352017: Median AQI 332018: Median AQI 312019: Median AQI 332020: Median AQI 292021: Median AQI 302022: Median AQI 312023: Median AQI 342024: Median AQI 342025: Median AQI 3219901995200020052010201520202025
  • 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
Ozone348100%

Year-by-year data

Annual AQI summary by year
YearDays with AQIGoodModerateUnhealthy for Sensitive GroupsUnhealthyVery UnhealthyHazardousMedian AQI90th pct.Max AQIMain pollutant
2025348336120000324497Ozone
2024362348140000344571Ozone
2023361342190000344693Ozone
2022360349110000314597Ozone
2021359347120000304467Ozone
202036035820000294164Ozone
2019358343150000334687Ozone
2018356340160000314593Ozone
2017347335120000334674Ozone
20163453212310003548101Ozone
2015352335170000324580Ozone
2014355333220000324784Ozone
2013346330160000324684Ozone
2012354334200000354690Ozone
2011328296320000385097Ozone
20103563233120003650129Ozone
2009334315190000334790Ozone
200822922360000314374Ozone
20073533143630003551112Ozone
2006358300580000376197Ozone
20053493073750003658143Ozone
20043543272610003349105Ozone
20033563243020003449112Ozone
20023623035180003661115Ozone
20013572994990003861129Ozone
20003592717792004271156Ozone
1999355237102151004487161Ozone
199833324973101004080187Ozone
19973612966230003961129Ozone
19963623005840003961136Ozone
19953562916050003864133Ozone
19943633075060003767150Ozone
19933542975340003867119Ozone
19923603193740003654147Ozone
19913593183740003551136Ozone
19903602876760004171126Ozone

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 1990–2025 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem