Wayne County, North Carolina air quality history

Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Wayne, North Carolina, 1990–2015.

32%

Good days in 2015

Median daily AQI, 2015

Days above 100 in 2015

197

Days with an AQI in 2015 (of 365)

In 2015, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Wayne, North Carolina on 197 days. 63 of those days (32%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 53. That median is higher than the typical monitored county in North Carolina (median 43.5 across 42 counties), and higher than the typical monitored U.S. county (41). The main pollutant was fine particles (PM2.5) on 197 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 25% in 2001–2004 versus 34% in 2013–2015.

EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2015 here (197 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 2015; EPA's files for 2016–2025 contain no row for it, which usually means its monitors stopped reporting.

Years with fewer than 120 monitored days (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005…) 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, 2015

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)	197	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
2015	197	63	134	0	0	53	69	87	PM2.5
2014	347	84	263	0	0	56	67	80	PM2.5
2013	359	160	199	0	0	52	66	90	PM2.5
2012	341	186	155	0	0	49	62	83	PM2.5
2011	346	164	180	1	1	52	64	155	PM2.5
2010	356	144	212	0	0	53	64	93	PM2.5
2009	359	178	181	0	0	51	64	83	PM2.5
2008	196	73	122	1	0	55	69	104	PM2.5
2007	239	83	154	2	0	55	74	112	PM2.5
2006	290	69	218	3	0	59	74	127	PM2.5
2005	114	37	76	1	0	56	77	110	PM2.5
2004	122	34	87	1	0	55	72	111	PM2.5
2003	117	33	83	1	0	56	71	109	PM2.5
2002	122	31	90	1	0	57	72	126	PM2.5
2001	123	27	96	0	0	58	80	95	PM2.5
2000	117	22	93	2	0	62	80	111	PM2.5
1999	110	39	66	5	0	57	85	117	PM2.5
1998	61	61	0	0	0	19	31	49	PM10
1997	61	61	0	0	0	20	33	50	PM10
1996	61	61	0	0	0	19	31	49	PM10
1995	61	61	0	0	0	18	28	38	PM10
1994	61	61	0	0	0	19	31	46	PM10
1993	61	61	0	0	0	22	33	43	PM10
1992	61	60	1	0	0	21	33	51	PM10
1991	59	58	1	0	0	23	43	51	PM10
1990	17	17	0	0	0	22	44	45	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 2015

All monitored counties in North Carolina

Source: U.S. EPA AirData, “Annual AQI by County” files for 1990–2015 (EPA download page). EPA file dates: 2026-06-26. Imported into EnviroNearby November 5, 2026. How we use this data · Report a problem