Daily Air Quality Index summaries from EPA monitors in Rutherford, Tennessee, 1988–2012.
75%
Good days in 2012
43
Median daily AQI, 2012
4
Days above 100 in 2012
243
Days with an AQI in 2012 (of 366)
In 2012, EPA reported a daily Air Quality Index (AQI) for Rutherford, Tennessee on 243 days. 183 of those days (75%) were in the Good range, and the median daily AQI was 43. That median is about the same as the typical monitored county in Tennessee (median 44 across 21 counties), and about the same as the typical monitored U.S. county (44). The main pollutant was ozone on 243 days. Across the years with fuller monitoring, the share of Good days rose: an average of 55% in 1988–1990 versus 73% in 2010–2012.
EPA did not report an AQI for every day of 2012 here (243 of 366 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 2012; EPA's files for 2013–2025 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, 2012
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
Ozone
243
100%
Year-by-year data
Annual AQI summary by year
Year
Days with AQI
Good
Moderate
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
Unhealthy
Very Unhealthy
Hazardous
Median AQI
90th pct.
Max AQI
Main pollutant
2012
243
183
56
4
0
0
0
43
84
105
Ozone
2011
239
181
58
0
0
0
0
44
71
100
Ozone
2010
243
164
72
7
0
0
0
45
80
122
Ozone
2009
245
206
39
0
0
0
0
39
58
84
Ozone
2008
239
161
73
5
0
0
0
45
84
108
Ozone
2007
229
111
100
14
4
0
0
51
97
182
Ozone
2006
231
138
82
11
0
0
0
47
84
119
Ozone
2005
236
147
71
17
1
0
0
47
97
166
Ozone
2004
245
186
56
2
1
0
0
42
71
156
Ozone
2003
236
144
75
16
1
0
0
46
93
154
Ozone
2002
244
155
56
29
4
0
0
46
115
197
Ozone
2001
226
138
73
15
0
0
0
46
90
140
Ozone
2000
244
139
68
32
5
0
0
48
112
166
Ozone
1999
229
109
73
36
11
0
0
54
126
200
Ozone
1998
211
103
77
27
4
0
0
51
108
172
Ozone
1997
203
102
67
30
4
0
0
50
112
179
Ozone
1996
204
115
69
18
2
0
0
49
100
156
Ozone
1995
179
139
35
5
0
0
0
42
71
136
Ozone
1994
201
121
71
7
2
0
0
45
87
159
Ozone
1993
208
144
55
9
0
0
0
44
87
136
Ozone
1992
190
154
34
2
0
0
0
39
61
122
Ozone
1991
205
127
65
13
0
0
0
44
93
119
Ozone
1990
208
103
73
31
1
0
0
51
108
154
Ozone
1989
203
141
54
8
0
0
0
43
90
126
Ozone
1988
171
78
55
25
11
2
0
58
136
215
Ozone
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 Tennessee with a similar median AQI in 2012
