Metro area air quality · 2025

Cookeville, TN

Median AQI 30 (Good). 90.0% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

30
Median AQI
90.0%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
86%
Cleaner than US metros

Cookeville, TN posted a 2025 median AQI of 30 (Good) with 90.0% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Cookeville, TN CBSA recorded a median AQI of 30 across 359 monitored days in 2025, with 90.0% 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 Cookeville, TN CBSA's 90.0% Good-day share places it cleaner than 86% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Lynchburg, VA (85.2% Good, median AQI 30) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Cookeville, TN.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Cookeville, TN's Good-day share moved +3.4 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI -1).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 30

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 359 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

Cookeville, TN sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (90.0% of 359 monitored days). On the EPA scale the metro runs good, cleaner than most US metros, with a median AQI of 30 and 90.0% of 359 monitored days in the Good band.

30
median AQI · Good
90.0%
days rated Good
86%
cleaner than US metros
66
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
  • Cookeville, TN metro's Good-day share rose from 83.7% to 90.0% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +6.3 percentage points.

Compared against 361 monitored days in 2024 and 359 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

Cookeville, TN sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (90.0% of 359 monitored days). Signature read: 90.0% 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 30 over 359 measured days in 2025 (Good / Good). The monitored-day split lands at 323 Good (90%), 36 Moderate (10%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 51; the highest single-day reading hit 66 (Moderate).

Across 2020–2025, Good-day share shifted +3.4 points and median AQI moved -1 (improving). No Unhealthy-tier days appear in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Lynchburg, VA (85.2% good, AQI 30); Athens, OH (83.4% good, AQI 31); Bellingham, WA (94.0% good, AQI 31).

Best and worst city air quality →

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

30

Good

Good Days

90.0%

323 of 359 days

Max AQI

66

Moderate

Health Grade

Good

90th pct: 51

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 359 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

323

90%

Moderate

36

10%

USG

0

0%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Good

The Cookeville, TN metro area's air quality is rated Good based on 90.0% 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 Cookeville, TN metro compare?

How Cookeville, TN compares

Good-day share better than typical
Cookeville, TN 90.0%
Lynchburg, VA 85.2%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI better than typical
Cookeville, TN 30
Lynchburg, VA 30
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Cookeville, TN 0
Lynchburg, VA 0
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is improving in the Cookeville, TN metro. Highest Good-day share: 2025 (90.0%, 323 of 359 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 310 48 0 31
2021 268 88 0 36
2022 289 58 0 32
2023 258 97 0 38
2024 302 59 0 32
2025 323 36 0 30

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Cookeville, TN (30).

Lynchburg, VA

Median AQI 30 · 85.2% Good-day share

30

Athens, OH

Median AQI 31 · 83.4% Good-day share

31

Bellingham, WA

Median AQI 31 · 94.0% Good-day share

31

Clearlake, CA

Median AQI 31 · 99.2% Good-day share

31

Coeur d'Alene, ID

Median AQI 31 · 77.8% Good-day share

31

Moscow, ID

Median AQI 31 · 83.4% Good-day share

31

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

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

Aberdeen, SD

0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 27

27

Aberdeen, WA

0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 22

22

Adrian, MI

0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 41

41

Akron, OH

0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 45

45

Albany, GA

0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 46

46

Albany, OR

0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 27

27

Frequently Asked Questions

How many unhealthy air days does Cookeville, TN have? ▼
In 2025, the Cookeville, TN metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 66.
What is the air quality in the Cookeville, TN metro area? ▼
The Cookeville, TN metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 30, rated "Good." 90.0% of monitored days (323 out of 359) had good air quality in 2025.
Is air quality in Cookeville, TN getting better or worse? ▼
Air quality in the Cookeville, TN 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 90.0% (323 of 359 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 72.7% (258 of 355 days).
What does AQI 30 mean for health? ▼
An AQI of 30 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 Cookeville, TN compare to other metro areas? ▼
The Cookeville, TN metro has 90.0% good air days. Similar metros: Lynchburg, VA (85.2% good), Athens, OH (83.4% good), Bellingham, WA (94.0% good).
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Cookeville, TN? ▼
The 90th percentile AQI for the Cookeville, TN metro area is 51, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 66 (Moderate).

Data Sources

Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by CBSA dataset for Cookeville, TN, 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, Cookeville, TN · 2020–2025