Metro area air quality · 2025

Decatur, IL

Median AQI 44 (Good). 64.9% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

44
Median AQI
64.9%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
34%
Cleaner than US metros

Decatur, IL posted a 2025 median AQI of 44 (Good) with 64.9% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Decatur, IL CBSA recorded a median AQI of 44 across 365 monitored days in 2025, with 64.9% 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 Decatur, IL CBSA's 64.9% Good-day share places it cleaner than 34% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Bartlesville, OK (68.0% Good, median AQI 44) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Decatur, IL.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Decatur, IL's Good-day share moved +6.4 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI -2).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 44

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 365 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

The Decatur, IL metro runs good on the EPA scale, more polluted than the median US metro, a median AQI of 44 with 64.9% of 365 monitored days in the Good band.

44
median AQI · Good
64.9%
days rated Good
34%
cleaner than US metros
141
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
  • Decatur, IL metro's peak single-day AQI rose from 101 to 141 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +40 points.

Compared against 365 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

Insights: Decatur, IL metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 44 over 365 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Moderate metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 237 Good days (65%), 125 Moderate (34%), and 3 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (1%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 64 while the highest single-day reading hit 141 (USG). Metro residents averaged roughly 19.5 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 +6.4 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 Bartlesville, OK (68.0% good, AQI 44); Berlin, NH-VT (81.5% good, AQI 44); Bloomington, IL (66.0% good, AQI 44).

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

44

Good

Good Days

64.9%

237 of 365 days

Max AQI

141

USG

Health Grade

Moderate

90th pct: 64

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 365 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

237

65%

Moderate

125

34%

USG

3

1%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Moderate

The Decatur, IL metro area's air quality is rated Moderate based on 64.9% 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 Decatur, IL metro compare?

How Decatur, IL compares

Good-day share worse than typical
Decatur, IL 64.9%
Bartlesville, OK 68.0%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI worse than typical
Decatur, IL 44
Bartlesville, OK 44
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Decatur, IL 0
Bartlesville, OK 1
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is improving in the Decatur, IL metro. Highest Good-day share: 2025 (65.5%, 237 of 362 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 214 148 0 46
2021 179 179 0 51
2022 209 154 0 46
2023 171 178 1 51
2024 238 127 0 43
2025 237 125 0 44

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Decatur, IL (44).

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

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

More Air Quality Data

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

Air Quality Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the air quality in the Decatur, IL metro area?
The Decatur, IL metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 44, rated "Good." 64.9% of monitored days (237 out of 365) had good air quality in 2025.
How many unhealthy air days does Decatur, IL have?
In 2025, the Decatur, IL metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 141.
Is air quality in Decatur, IL getting better or worse?
Air quality in the Decatur, IL 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 65.5% (237 of 362 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 48.9% (171 of 350 days).
What does AQI 44 mean for health?
An AQI of 44 is "Good", air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no health risk. This is the best category on the EPA's AQI scale.
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Decatur, IL?
The 90th percentile AQI for the Decatur, IL metro area is 64, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 141 (USG).
How does Decatur, IL compare to other metro areas?
The Decatur, IL metro has 64.9% good air days. Similar metros: Bartlesville, OK (68.0% good), Berlin, NH-VT (81.5% good), Bloomington, IL (66.0% 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.

Source: U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by CBSA summary files (metro-level) · 2020–2025

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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.