Missouri · County air quality · 2025

Buchanan County, Missouri

Median AQI 46 (Good). 56.4% of monitored days rated Good, direct from EPA Air Quality System stations.

46
Median AQI
56.4%
Good-air days
1
Unhealthy days
11%
Cleaner than US counties

Buchanan County's 2025 annual median AQI is 46 (Good), with 56.4% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, Buchanan County, Missouri posted a 2025 median AQI of 46 (Good) across 365 monitored days, with 56.4% rated Good and 1 unhealthy or worse. This is an annual comparison, not today's advisory.

Data source EPA Air Quality System (AQS)

Cleaner than US
Buchanan County's 56.4% Good-day share places it cleaner than 11% of US counties in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Beaver County (55.6% Good, median AQI 46) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Buchanan County.
2020–2025 trend
Buchanan County's floor-qualifying Good-day share is worsening from 2020 to 2025 (67.9% → 56.6%).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 46

According to the 2025 EPA AQS county release on PlainAirData, Buchanan County, Missouri ranks #787 of 951 by median AQI (46) and #844 by good-day share (56.4%). 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
  • Buchanan County's peak single-day AQI rose from 77 to 256 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +179 points.
  • Buchanan County's Good-day share fell from 60.2% to 56.4% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -3.7 percentage points.

Compared against 359 monitored days in 2024 and 365 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

Buchanan 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 365 monitored days G M Median AQI 46 0 50 100 150 200 300 500 Buchanan County
  • Good · 206 d · 56.4%
  • Moderate · 157 d · 43.0%
  • USG · 1 d · 0.3%
  • Very Unhealthy · 1 d · 0.3%

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

Across 365 monitored days, 206 fell in the Good band (AQI 0–50) and 1 reached Unhealthy or worse. The worst single day peaked at AQI 256 (Very Unhealthy).

EPA AQS →
Buchanan County, Good days share 56.4%
National avg

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

Buchanan County, Unhealthy-or-worse share 2.7%
National avg

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

Where Buchanan County sits nationally

COUNT-derived placement among 951 US counties with at least 100 monitored days in 2025. Buchanan County's Good-day share is 56.4% - cleaner than 11% of that comparison set.

Buchanan County Good-day share vs. every US county

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

56.4% 11th percentile higher than 11% 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%). This entry sits in this band. 60.0%–65.0%: 77 US counties (8%). Above this entry. 65.0%–70.0%: 93 US counties (10%). Above this entry. 70.0%–75.0%: 109 US counties (11%). Above this entry. 75.0%–80.0%: 114 US counties (12%). Above this entry. 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 Buchanan County.

Buchanan County, Missouri 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. PM2.5 · 90.4% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Buchanan County, Missouri · 365 monitored days Criteria pollutant column
  • PM2.5 · 330 days · 90.4%
  • PM10 · 35 days · 9.6%

2024 daily-monitor rhythm in Buchanan County

Month-by-month median AQI from EPA day-level county monitors (359 reported days in 2024). Jul posted the highest typical readings (median AQI 55, peak 70); Nov was cleanest at median 36. Summer months (Jun–Aug) averaged median AQI 51 vs 42 in Dec–Feb.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 37 48 47 38 40 47 55 51 47 54 36 42
Buchanan County median daily AQI by calendar month (2024, EPA daily county file)

Five-year seasonal record

EPA day-level county files · 2020–2024

1,817 daily readings show a recurring local pattern: Jul has the highest matched-month median AQI (52), while Mar is lowest (39). Each cell is that month’s median daily AQI, not a current-air forecast.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020 444039423248424646423947
2021 473537443548565445314246
2022 323835323545545244444035
2023 523738435358535254374834
2024 374847384047555147543642

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

Moderate

Buchanan County's air quality is rated Moderate based on 56.4% good air days. There were 1 unhealthy days in 2025 when outdoor activity should be limited.

Air quality reached unhealthy levels on 1 days in 2025 (0 Unhealthy, 1 Very Unhealthy). Sensitive groups, including people with asthma, COPD, cardiovascular conditions, children, and adults over 65, should review the daily breakdown below and follow local air-quality advisories on high-AQI days.

Sensitive group advisory

People with asthma, COPD, heart disease, children, pregnant women, and adults 65+ should follow EPA AQI alerts daily and limit outdoor exertion when AQI exceeds 100. Real-time conditions: airnow.gov.

The dominant pollutant is PM2.5, driving AQI on 330 of 365 monitored days.

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is worsening in Buchanan County. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (67.9%, 248 of 365 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 248 116 1 0 42
2021 235 127 3 0 44
2022 237 126 2 0 42
2023 196 165 2 0 48
2024 216 143 0 0 44
2025 206 157 1 0 46

How does Buchanan County compare?

How Buchanan County compares

Good-day share worse than typical
Buchanan County 56.4%
Beaver County, Pennsylvania 55.6%
Typical US county 76.0%
Median AQI worse than typical
Buchanan County 46
Beaver County, Pennsylvania 46
Typical US county 39
Unhealthy days / yr about typical
Buchanan County 1
Beaver 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 Buchanan County, Missouri · 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.