Washington · County air quality · 2025

Cowlitz County, Washington

Median AQI 22 (Good). 90.4% of monitored days rated Good, direct from EPA Air Quality System stations.

22
Median AQI
90.4%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
81%
Cleaner than US counties

Cowlitz County's 2025 annual median AQI is 22 (Good), with 90.4% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, Cowlitz County, Washington posted a 2025 median AQI of 22 (Good) across 250 monitored days, with 90.4% 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
Cowlitz County's 90.4% Good-day share places it cleaner than 81% of US counties in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Bonneville County (93.0% Good, median AQI 22) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Cowlitz County.
2020–2025 trend
Cowlitz County's floor-qualifying Good-day share is stable from 2020 to 2025 (91.7% → 90.4%).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 22

According to the 2025 EPA AQS county release on PlainAirData, Cowlitz County, Washington ranks #44 of 951 by median AQI (22) and #185 by good-day share (90.4%). 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
  • Cowlitz County's Good-day share fell from 95.4% to 90.4% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -5.0 percentage points.

Compared against 366 monitored days in 2024 and 250 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

Cowlitz 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 250 monitored days G M Median AQI 22 0 50 100 150 200 300 500 Cowlitz County
  • Good · 226 d · 90.4%
  • Moderate · 24 d · 9.6%

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

Across 250 monitored days, 226 fell in the Good band (AQI 0–50) and 0 reached Unhealthy or worse. The worst single day peaked at AQI 72 (Moderate).

EPA AQS →
Cowlitz County, Good days share 90.4%
National avg

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

Cowlitz 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 Cowlitz County sits nationally

COUNT-derived placement among 951 US counties with at least 100 monitored days in 2025. Cowlitz County's Good-day share is 90.4% - cleaner than 81% of that comparison set.

Cowlitz County Good-day share vs. every US county

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

90.4% Cleaner than 81% higher than 81% 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%). Below this entry. 80.0%–85.0%: 123 US counties (13%). Below this entry. 85.0%–90.0%: 99 US counties (10%). Below this entry. 90.0%–95.0%: 117 US counties (12%). This entry sits in this band. 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 Cowlitz County.

Cowlitz County, Washington 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 · 100.0% 0% 25% 50% 75% 100% Cowlitz County, Washington · 250 monitored days Criteria pollutant column
  • PM2.5 · 250 days · 100.0%

2024 daily-monitor rhythm in Cowlitz County

Month-by-month median AQI from EPA day-level county monitors (366 reported days in 2024). Dec posted the highest typical readings (median AQI 35, peak 52); May was cleanest at median 13. Summer months (Jun–Aug) averaged median AQI 21 vs 29 in Dec–Feb.

0 10 20 30 40 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 32 21 18 17 13 14 22 27 23 27 34 35
Cowlitz County median daily AQI by calendar month (2024, EPA daily county file)

Five-year seasonal record

EPA day-level county files · 2020–2024

1,825 daily readings show a recurring local pattern: Nov has the highest matched-month median AQI (40), while Jun is lowest (12). Each cell is that month’s median daily AQI, not a current-air forecast.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
2020 163328201712171933324033
2021 312427211415192319252219
2022 313215141012192029515029
2023 25271711129183025325239
2024 322118171314222723273435

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

Excellent

Cowlitz County's air quality is rated Excellent based on 90.4% good air days. No unhealthy air days were recorded in 2025.

Air quality was acceptable on 90.4% of monitored days in 2025, with a median AQI of 22. Unusually sensitive people can check real-time conditions at AirNow.gov during high-pollution events.

The dominant pollutant is PM2.5, driving AQI on 250 of 250 monitored days.

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is stable in Cowlitz County. Highest Good-day share: 2021 (97.3%, 355 of 365 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate USG Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 331 26 1 3 21
2021 355 10 0 0 21
2022 316 45 2 0 21
2023 323 42 0 0 22
2024 349 17 0 0 22
2025 226 24 0 0 22

How does Cowlitz County compare?

How Cowlitz County compares

Good-day share better than typical
Cowlitz County 90.4%
Bonneville County, Idaho 93.0%
Typical US county 76.0%
Median AQI better than typical
Cowlitz County 22
Bonneville County, Idaho 22
Typical US county 39
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Cowlitz County 0
Bonneville County, Idaho 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 Cowlitz County, Washington · 2020–2025

Embed this widget

Copy this snippet to embed a live-linked card on your own site. Attribution to PlainAirData is baked into the widget.

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.