North Carolina · County air quality · 2025

Guilford County, North Carolina

Median AQI 41 (Good). 75.1% of monitored days rated Good, direct from EPA Air Quality System stations.

41
Median AQI
75.1%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
44%
Cleaner than US counties

Guilford County's 2025 annual median AQI is 41 (Good), with 75.1% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, Guilford County, North Carolina posted a 2025 median AQI of 41 (Good) across 365 monitored days, with 75.1% 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
Guilford County's 75.1% Good-day share places it cleaner than 44% 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 Guilford County.
2020–2025 trend
Guilford County's floor-qualifying Good-day share is worsening from 2020 to 2025 (78.9% → 75.1%).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 41

According to the 2025 EPA AQS county release on PlainAirData, Guilford County, North Carolina ranks #519 of 951 by median AQI (41) and #525 by good-day share (75.1%). 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
  • Guilford County's Good-day share rose from 68.0% to 75.1% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +7.0 percentage points.
  • Guilford County's peak single-day AQI fell from 122 to 77 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -45 points.
  • Guilford County's median AQI fell from 44 to 41 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -3 points.

Compared against 366 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

Guilford 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 41 0 50 100 150 200 300 500 Guilford County
  • Good · 274 d · 75.1%
  • Moderate · 91 d · 24.9%

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

Across 365 monitored days, 274 fell in the Good band (AQI 0–50) and 0 reached Unhealthy or worse. The worst single day peaked at AQI 77 (Moderate).

EPA AQS →
Guilford County, Good days share 75.1%
National avg

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

Guilford 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 Guilford County sits nationally

COUNT-derived placement among 951 US counties with at least 100 monitored days in 2025. Guilford County's Good-day share is 75.1% - cleaner than 44% of that comparison set.

Guilford County Good-day share vs. every US county

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

75.1% 44th percentile higher than 44% 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 Guilford County.

Guilford County, North Carolina 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 · 58.4% Ozone · 41.1% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Guilford County, North Carolina · 365 monitored days Criteria pollutant column
  • PM2.5 · 213 days · 58.4%
  • Ozone · 150 days · 41.1%
  • PM10 · 2 days · 0.5%

2024 daily-monitor rhythm in Guilford County

Month-by-month median AQI from EPA day-level county monitors (366 reported days in 2024). Apr posted the highest typical readings (median AQI 51, peak 87); Jan was cleanest at median 27. Summer months (Jun–Aug) averaged median AQI 49 vs 35 in Dec–Feb.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 27 32 43 51 44 50 49 48 38 44 39 46
Guilford County median daily AQI by calendar month (2024, EPA daily county file)

Five-year seasonal record

EPA day-level county files · 2020–2024

1,826 daily readings show a recurring local pattern: Jun has the highest matched-month median AQI (53), while Feb is lowest (33). Each cell is that month’s median daily AQI, not a current-air forecast.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020 222241443847474331424737
2021 292343504940565547404750
2022 464945494956484442443547
2023 464051505271585246434441
2024 273243514450494838443946

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

Guilford County's air quality is rated Good based on 75.1% good air days. No unhealthy air days were recorded in 2025.

Air quality was acceptable on 75.1% 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 PM2.5, driving AQI on 213 of 365 monitored days.

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is worsening in Guilford County. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (78.9%, 288 of 365 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 288 77 0 0 40
2021 245 120 0 0 44
2022 223 142 0 0 46
2023 183 178 4 0 50
2024 249 116 1 0 44
2025 274 91 0 0 41

How does Guilford County compare?

How Guilford County compares

Good-day share worse than typical
Guilford County 75.1%
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania 70.5%
Typical US county 76.0%
Median AQI worse than typical
Guilford County 41
Armstrong County, Pennsylvania 41
Typical US county 39
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Guilford 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 Guilford County, North Carolina · 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.