Metro area air quality · 2025

Cañon City, CO

Median AQI 23 (Good). 93.4% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

23
Median AQI
93.4%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
92%
Cleaner than US metros

Cañon City, CO posted a 2025 median AQI of 23 (Good) with 93.4% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Cañon City, CO CBSA recorded a median AQI of 23 across 362 monitored days in 2025, with 93.4% 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 Cañon City, CO CBSA's 93.4% Good-day share places it cleaner than 92% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Bend-Redmond, OR (89.3% Good, median AQI 23) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Cañon City, CO.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Cañon City, CO's Good-day share moved -6.6 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +12).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 23

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 362 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

Cañon City, CO sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (93.4% of 362 monitored days). On the EPA scale the metro runs good, among the cleanest 10% of US metros, with a median AQI of 23 and 93.4% of 362 monitored days in the Good band.

23
median AQI · Good
93.4%
days rated Good
92%
cleaner than US metros
77
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

2024 → 2025
  • Cañon City, CO metro's Good-day share fell from 97.8% to 93.4% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -4.4 percentage points.
  • Cañon City, CO metro's median AQI rose from 13 to 23 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +10 points.
  • Cañon City, CO metro's peak single-day AQI rose from 59 to 77 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +18 points.

Compared against 362 monitored days in 2024 and 362 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

Cañon City, CO sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (93.4% of 362 monitored days). Signature read: 93.4% Good-day share (high tercile vs CBSA corpus). Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 23 over 362 measured days in 2025 (Good / Excellent). The monitored-day split lands at 338 Good (93%), 24 Moderate (7%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 45; the highest single-day reading hit 77 (Moderate).

Across 2020–2025, Good-day share shifted -6.6 points and median AQI moved +12 (worsening). No Unhealthy-tier days appear in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Bend-Redmond, OR (89.3% good, AQI 23); Juneau, AK (84.3% good, AQI 23); Pullman, WA (86.8% good, AQI 23).

Best and worst city air quality →

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

23

Good

Good Days

93.4%

338 of 362 days

Max AQI

77

Moderate

Health Grade

Excellent

90th pct: 45

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 362 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

338

93%

Moderate

24

7%

USG

0

0%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Excellent

The Cañon City, CO metro area's air quality is rated Excellent based on 93.4% 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 Cañon City, CO metro compare?

How Cañon City, CO compares

Good-day share better than typical
Cañon City, CO 93.4%
Bend-Redmond, OR 89.3%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI better than typical
Cañon City, CO 23
Bend-Redmond, OR 23
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Cañon City, CO 0
Bend-Redmond, OR 1
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is worsening in the Cañon City, CO metro. Highest Good-day share: 2023 (99.4%, 162 of 163 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 17 0 0 11
2021 85 1 0 15
2022 115 3 0 12
2023 162 1 0 12
2024 354 8 0 13
2025 338 24 0 23

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Cañon City, CO (23).

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Cañon City, CO's 0 (independent of median AQI).

Frequently Asked Questions

How many unhealthy air days does Cañon City, CO have?
In 2025, the Cañon City, CO metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 77.
What is the air quality in the Cañon City, CO metro area?
The Cañon City, CO metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 23, rated "Good." 93.4% of monitored days (338 out of 362) had good air quality in 2025.
Is air quality in Cañon City, CO getting better or worse?
Air quality in the Cañon City, CO metro is worsening across floor-qualifying years (2022-2025); years with fewer than 100 monitored days are excluded from that direction. Highest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 99.4% (162 of 163 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2025 at 93.4% (338 of 362 days).
What does AQI 23 mean for health?
An AQI of 23 is "Good", air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no health risk. This is the best category on the EPA's AQI scale.
How does Cañon City, CO compare to other metro areas?
The Cañon City, CO metro has 93.4% good air days. Similar metros: Bend-Redmond, OR (89.3% good), Juneau, AK (84.3% good), Pullman, WA (86.8% good).
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Cañon City, CO?
The 90th percentile AQI for the Cañon City, CO metro area is 45, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 77 (Moderate).

Data Sources

Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by CBSA dataset for Cañon City, CO, 2025. See our methodology for how AQI, median, and coverage figures are computed.

Source: U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by CBSA summary, Cañon City, CO · 2020–2025