Maryland · County air quality · 2025

Cecil County, Maryland

Median AQI 41 (Good). 79.8% of monitored days rated Good, direct from EPA Air Quality System stations.

41
Median AQI
79.8%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
56%
Cleaner than US counties

Cecil County's 2025 annual median AQI is 41 (Good), with 79.8% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, Cecil County, Maryland posted a 2025 median AQI of 41 (Good) across 361 monitored days, with 79.8% rated Good and 0 unhealthy or worse. This is an annual comparison, not today's advisory.

Data source EPA Air Quality System (AQS)

Cleaner than US
Cecil County's 79.8% Good-day share places it cleaner than 56% of US counties in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Armstrong County (70.5% Good, median AQI 41) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Cecil County.
2020–2025 trend
Cecil County's floor-qualifying Good-day share is worsening from 2020 to 2025 (86.6% → 79.8%).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 41

According to the 2025 EPA AQS county release on PlainAirData, Cecil County, Maryland ranks #519 of 951 by median AQI (41) and #419 by good-day share (79.8%). Ponce County, Puerto Rico is #1 of 951 by median AQI (3, 91.4% Good days) at good-day-share #159 ≠ largest of 7 at 100.0% Good days #1 by good-day share (100.0%, median AQI 9) at median-AQI #7.

Annual release change

What changed in the 2025 EPA annual release

2024 → 2025
  • Cecil County's Good-day share rose from 65.6% to 79.8% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +14.2 percentage points.
  • Cecil County's median AQI fell from 44 to 41 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -3 points.

Compared against 360 monitored days in 2024 and 361 in 2025. These are arithmetic differences between two stored EPA annual summaries, not a cause claim or a live advisory.

National release changes Two-year CSV

Data updated August 2026

Cecil County AQI category distribution Stacked-segment bar showing the share of monitored days that fell in each EPA AQI category, Good, Moderate, USG, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, Hazardous, with median AQI marker. AQI category distribution 361 monitored days G M Median AQI 41 0 50 100 150 200 300 500 Cecil County
  • Good · 288 d · 79.8%
  • Moderate · 71 d · 19.7%
  • USG · 2 d · 0.6%

How did Cecil County's air break down in 2025?

Across 361 monitored days, 288 fell in the Good band (AQI 0–50) and 0 reached Unhealthy or worse. The worst single day peaked at AQI 129 (USG).

EPA AQS →
Cecil County, Good days share 79.8%
National avg

Share of monitored days at AQI 0-50 (Good band).

Cecil County, Unhealthy-or-worse share 0.0%
National avg

Share of monitored days above AQI 150 (Unhealthy or worse). Bar maxes at 10% (worst-county ceiling).

Where Cecil County sits nationally

COUNT-derived placement among 951 US counties with at least 100 monitored days in 2025. Cecil County's Good-day share is 79.8% - cleaner than 56% of that comparison set.

Cecil County Good-day share vs. every US county

Share of monitored days in the Good band (AQI 0–50) - EPA AQS annual release

79.8% Cleaner than 56% higher than 56% of 951 US counties

0.0%–5.0%: 0 US counties (0%). Below this entry. 5.0%–10.0%: 1 US counties (0%). Below this entry. 10.0%–15.0%: 4 US counties (0%). Below this entry. 15.0%–20.0%: 4 US counties (0%). Below this entry. 20.0%–25.0%: 1 US counties (0%). Below this entry. 25.0%–30.0%: 5 US counties (1%). Below this entry. 30.0%–35.0%: 9 US counties (1%). Below this entry. 35.0%–40.0%: 4 US counties (0%). Below this entry. 40.0%–45.0%: 16 US counties (2%). Below this entry. 45.0%–50.0%: 16 US counties (2%). Below this entry. 50.0%–55.0%: 32 US counties (3%). Below this entry. 55.0%–60.0%: 50 US counties (5%). Below this entry. 60.0%–65.0%: 77 US counties (8%). Below this entry. 65.0%–70.0%: 93 US counties (10%). Below this entry. 70.0%–75.0%: 109 US counties (11%). Below this entry. 75.0%–80.0%: 114 US counties (12%). This entry sits in this band. 80.0%–85.0%: 123 US counties (13%). Above this entry. 85.0%–90.0%: 99 US counties (10%). Above this entry. 90.0%–95.0%: 117 US counties (12%). Above this entry. 95.0%–100.0%: 70 US counties (7%). Above this entry. 100.0%–105.0%: 7 US counties (1%). Above this entry. This county 0.0% 100% every floor-qualified US county, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System (AQS) · 2025

Pollutant Breakdown

Days where each pollutant was the primary driver of AQI readings in Cecil County.

Cecil County, Maryland criteria pollutant distribution Stratified-band visualization showing the share of monitored days each criteria pollutant (PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, CO) was the primary AQI driver. Ozone · 54.0% PM2.5 · 46.0% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Cecil County, Maryland · 361 monitored days Criteria pollutant column
  • Ozone · 195 days · 54.0%
  • PM2.5 · 166 days · 46.0%

2024 daily-monitor rhythm in Cecil County

Month-by-month median AQI from EPA day-level county monitors (360 reported days in 2024). Aug posted the highest typical readings (median AQI 52, peak 108); Dec was cleanest at median 26. Summer months (Jun–Aug) averaged median AQI 51 vs 35 in Dec–Feb.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 37 42 40 45 42 50 51 52 43 52 37 26
Cecil County median daily AQI by calendar month (2024, EPA daily county file)

Five-year seasonal record

EPA day-level county files · 2020–2024

1,796 daily readings show a recurring local pattern: Jul has the highest matched-month median AQI (51), while Jan is lowest (35). Each cell is that month’s median daily AQI, not a current-air forecast.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020 263037423443484432323540
2021 384443444444564739334640
2022 463944434449484535393234
2023 283343464863544339302534
2024 374240454250515243523726

Lower AQI is better. The colors summarize EPA AQI bands; gaps mean the county had no day-level record for that month.

Health Impact Assessment

Good

Cecil County's air quality is rated Good based on 79.8% good air days. No unhealthy air days were recorded in 2025.

Air quality was acceptable on 79.8% of monitored days in 2025, with a median AQI of 41. Unusually sensitive people can check real-time conditions at AirNow.gov during high-pollution events.

The dominant pollutant is Ozone, driving AQI on 195 of 361 monitored days.

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is worsening in Cecil County. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (86.6%, 309 of 357 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 309 48 0 0 38
2021 235 119 4 0 44
2022 267 93 1 0 43
2023 266 88 2 4 42
2024 236 121 3 0 44
2025 288 71 2 0 41

How does Cecil County compare?

How Cecil County compares

Good-day share better than typical
Cecil County 79.8%
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania 70.5%
Typical US county 76.0%
Median AQI worse than typical
Cecil County 41
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania 41
Typical US county 39
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Cecil County 0
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania 0
Typical US county 1

Data Sources

Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by County dataset, 2020–2025 (aqs.epa.gov). For current conditions (not shown here — this page is historical annual data), see EPA AirNow (airnow.gov). See our methodology for how AQI, median, and coverage figures are computed.

Informational only, not professional advice. Data from EPA AQS. See our disclaimer. Spotted a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.

Source: U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by county summary files for Cecil County, Maryland · 2020–2025

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Download this county's annual AQI row as CSV , with the same EPA fields and denominator shown on this page.

Every figure on PlainAirData is rendered directly from EPA AQS air-quality monitoring data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA AQS air-quality monitoring data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.