Metro area air quality · 2025
Birmingham-Hoover, AL
Median AQI 52 (Moderate). 43.0% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.
- 52
- Median AQI
- 43.0%
- Good-air days
- 0
- Unhealthy days
- 8%
- Cleaner than US metros
Birmingham-Hoover, AL posted a 2025 median AQI of 52 (Moderate) with 43.0% Good days
According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Birmingham-Hoover, AL CBSA recorded a median AQI of 52 across 365 monitored days in 2025, with 43.0% rated Good and 0 unhealthy or worse. This is an annual metro comparison, not a live advisory.
Data source EPA Air Quality System (AQS)
- Cleaner than US metros
- The Birmingham-Hoover, AL CBSA's 43.0% Good-day share places it cleaner than 8% of US metros in 2025.
- Closest median-AQI peer
- Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC (46.0% Good, median AQI 52) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Birmingham-Hoover, AL.
- 2020–2025 Good-day shift
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL's Good-day share moved +10.5 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI -2).
- Median AQI
- Median AQI: 52
Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 365 monitored days. EPA AQS →
The verdict
Birmingham-Hoover, AL lands in the lower Good-day tercile (43.0% Good), a thinner clean-air share than most CBSA peers here. On the EPA scale the metro runs moderate, among the more polluted US metros, with a median AQI of 52 and 43.0% of 365 monitored days in the Good band.
- 52
- median AQI · Moderate
- 43.0%
- days rated Good
- 8%
- cleaner than US metros
- 117
- worst single reading
No day crossed into the Unhealthy tier across the metro's monitors in 2025.
Annual release change
What changed in the 2025 EPA annual release
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro's Good-day share rose from 26.1% to 43.3% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +17.1 percentage points.
- Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro's median AQI fell from 57 to 52 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -5 points.
Birmingham-Hoover, AL lands in the lower Good-day tercile (43.0% Good), a thinner clean-air share than most CBSA peers here. Signature read: 43.0% Good-day share (low tercile vs CBSA corpus). Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 52 over 365 measured days in 2025 (Moderate / Poor). The monitored-day split lands at 157 Good (43%), 206 Moderate (56%), and 2 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (1%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 69; the highest single-day reading hit 117 (USG).
Across 2020–2025, Good-day share shifted +10.5 points and median AQI moved -2 (improving). No Unhealthy-tier days appear in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC (46.0% good, AQI 52); Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX (41.4% good, AQI 52); Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (46.0% good, AQI 52).
Air Quality Summary
Median AQI
52
Moderate
Good Days
43.0%
157 of 365 days
Max AQI
117
USG
Health Grade
Poor
90th pct: 69
AQI Day Breakdown (2025)
Distribution of 365 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.
Good
157
43%
Moderate
206
56%
USG
2
1%
Unhealthy
0
0%
Very Unhealthy
0
0%
Hazardous
0
0%
Health Impact Assessment
The Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro area's air quality is rated Poor based on 43.0% good air days. No unhealthy air days were recorded in 2025.
Air quality is generally acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should monitor real-time conditions at AirNow.gov during high-pollution events.
How does the Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro compare?
How Birmingham-Hoover, AL compares
5-Year Air Quality Trend
Air quality is improving in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro. Highest Good-day share: 2025 (43.3%, 157 of 363 monitored days).
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy | Median AQI | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 119 | 244 | 0 | 54 | 129 |
| 2021 | 104 | 256 | 2 | 56 | 189 |
| 2022 | 128 | 234 | 0 | 54 | 105 |
| 2023 | 73 | 272 | 3 | 61 | 255 |
| 2024 | 94 | 266 | 0 | 57 | 119 |
| 2025 | 157 | 206 | 0 | 52 | 117 |
Metros with a similar median AQI
CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Birmingham-Hoover, AL (52).
Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
Median AQI 52 · 46.0% Good-day share
Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX
Median AQI 52 · 41.4% Good-day share
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
Median AQI 52 · 46.0% Good-day share
El Dorado, AR
Median AQI 52 · 41.8% Good-day share
Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
Median AQI 52 · 41.9% Good-day share
Greeley, CO
Median AQI 52 · 44.7% Good-day share
Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure
A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Birmingham-Hoover, AL's 0 (independent of median AQI).
Aberdeen, SD
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 27
Aberdeen, WA
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 22
Adrian, MI
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 41
Akron, OH
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 45
Albany, GA
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 46
Albany, OR
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 27
Frequently Asked Questions
How many unhealthy air days does Birmingham-Hoover, AL have? ▼
What is the air quality in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro area? ▼
Is air quality in Birmingham-Hoover, AL getting better or worse? ▼
What does AQI 52 mean for health? ▼
How does Birmingham-Hoover, AL compare to other metro areas? ▼
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Birmingham-Hoover, AL? ▼
Data Sources
Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by CBSA dataset for Birmingham-Hoover, AL, 2025. See our methodology for how AQI, median, and coverage figures are computed.
Read our methodology , how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Source: U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by CBSA summary, Birmingham-Hoover, AL · 2020–2025