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.

Compiled by PlainAirData, Independent data publisher · August 4, 2026

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

The Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro runs moderate on the EPA scale, among the more polluted US metros, a median AQI of 52 with 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.

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.

Insights: Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 52 over 365 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Moderate band and a Poor metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 157 Good days (43%), 206 Moderate (56%), and 2 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (1%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 69 while the highest single-day reading hit 117 (USG). Metro residents averaged roughly 12.9 clean-air days per 30-day window across the reporting year.

Across the 2020–2025 trend window, the share of monitored days rated Good shifted by +10.5 points and the median AQI moved -2 points, which classifies the multi-year trajectory as improving. The metro recorded no Unhealthy-tier days 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

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

Unhealthy

Very Unhealthy

Hazardous

Health Impact Assessment

Poor

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

Compare against

Good-day share worse than typical

Birmingham-Hoover, AL 43.0%

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 46.0%

Typical US metro 70.6%

Median AQI worse than typical

Birmingham-Hoover, AL 52

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 52

Typical US metro 41

Unhealthy days / yr better than typical

Birmingham-Hoover, AL 0

Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC 0

Typical US metro 1

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

More Air Quality Data

Explore EPA air quality rankings and guides across U.S. metros and counties.

Cleanest Metro Areas

U.S. metros ranked by their share of Good air-quality days.

Worst Air Quality

Counties and metros with the most unhealthy air days.

All Metro Areas

Annual AQI by CBSA for every monitored U.S. metro area.

Best and Worst City Air

What drives urban air quality and how metro areas compare.

Air Quality Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the air quality in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro area? ▼

The Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 52, rated "Moderate." 43.0% of monitored days (157 out of 365) had good air quality in 2025.

How many unhealthy air days does Birmingham-Hoover, AL have? ▼

In 2025, the Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 117.

Is air quality in Birmingham-Hoover, AL getting better or worse? ▼

Air quality in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro is improving across floor-qualifying years (2020-2025); years with fewer than 100 monitored days are excluded from that direction. Highest qualifying Good-day share: 2025 at 43.3% (157 of 363 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 21.0% (73 of 348 days).

What does AQI 52 mean for health? ▼

An AQI of 52 is "Moderate", air quality is acceptable, but some pollutants may pose a moderate health concern for a small number of sensitive individuals.

What is the 90th percentile AQI for Birmingham-Hoover, AL? ▼

The 90th percentile AQI for the Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro area is 69, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 117 (USG).

How does Birmingham-Hoover, AL compare to other metro areas? ▼

The Birmingham-Hoover, AL metro has 43.0% good air days. Similar metros: Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC (46.0% good), Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX (41.4% good), Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC (46.0% good).

Data Sources

Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by CBSA dataset, 2020–2025. 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 files (metro-level) · 2020–2025 Accessed 2026-07-06

Send the source-year summary or download its ready-to-use data card.

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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.