Metro area air quality · 2025

Grand Island, NE

Median AQI 34 (Good). 82.5% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

34
Median AQI
82.5%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
72%
Cleaner than US metros

Grand Island, NE posted a 2025 median AQI of 34 (Good) with 82.5% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Grand Island, NE CBSA recorded a median AQI of 34 across 337 monitored days in 2025, with 82.5% 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 Grand Island, NE CBSA's 82.5% Good-day share places it cleaner than 72% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Arkadelphia, AR (96.7% Good, median AQI 34) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Grand Island, NE.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Grand Island, NE's Good-day share moved -4.6 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +8).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 34

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 337 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

Grand Island, NE sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (82.5% of 337 monitored days). On the EPA scale the metro runs good, cleaner than the median US metro, with a median AQI of 34 and 82.5% of 337 monitored days in the Good band.

34
median AQI · Good
82.5%
days rated Good
72%
cleaner than US metros
118
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
  • Grand Island, NE metro's Good-day share rose from 76.8% to 83.0% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +6.2 percentage points.
  • Grand Island, NE metro's peak single-day AQI rose from 80 to 118 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +38 points.

Compared against 323 monitored days in 2024 and 335 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

Grand Island, NE sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (82.5% of 337 monitored days). Signature read: 82.5% 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 34 over 337 measured days in 2025 (Good / Good). The monitored-day split lands at 278 Good (82%), 57 Moderate (17%), and 2 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (1%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 54; the highest single-day reading hit 118 (USG).

Across 2020–2025, Good-day share shifted -4.6 points and median AQI moved +8 (worsening). No Unhealthy-tier days appear in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Arkadelphia, AR (96.7% good, AQI 34); Augusta-Waterville, ME (85.2% good, AQI 34); Beatrice, NE (75.8% good, AQI 34).

Best and worst city air quality →

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

34

Good

Good Days

82.5%

278 of 337 days

Max AQI

118

USG

Health Grade

Good

90th pct: 54

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 337 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

278

82%

Moderate

57

17%

USG

2

1%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Good

The Grand Island, NE metro area's air quality is rated Good based on 82.5% 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 Grand Island, NE metro compare?

How Grand Island, NE compares

Good-day share better than typical
Grand Island, NE 82.5%
Arkadelphia, AR 96.7%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI better than typical
Grand Island, NE 34
Arkadelphia, AR 34
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Grand Island, NE 0
Arkadelphia, AR 0
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is worsening in the Grand Island, NE metro. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (87.6%, 296 of 338 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 296 42 0 26
2021 268 87 0 34
2022 301 49 0 27
2023 251 88 3 35
2024 248 75 0 32
2025 278 57 0 34

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Grand Island, NE (34).

Arkadelphia, AR

Median AQI 34 · 96.7% Good-day share

34

Augusta-Waterville, ME

Median AQI 34 · 85.2% Good-day share

34

Beatrice, NE

Median AQI 34 · 75.8% Good-day share

34

Dyersburg, TN

Median AQI 34 · 76.9% Good-day share

34

Erie, PA

Median AQI 34 · 76.7% Good-day share

34

Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL

Median AQI 34 · 95.5% Good-day share

34

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Grand Island, NE'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 Grand Island, NE have? ▼
In 2025, the Grand Island, NE metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 118.
What is the air quality in the Grand Island, NE metro area? ▼
The Grand Island, NE metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 34, rated "Good." 82.5% of monitored days (278 out of 337) had good air quality in 2025.
Is air quality in Grand Island, NE getting better or worse? ▼
Air quality in the Grand Island, NE metro is worsening across floor-qualifying years (2020-2025); years with fewer than 100 monitored days are excluded from that direction. Highest qualifying Good-day share: 2020 at 87.6% (296 of 338 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 73.4% (251 of 342 days).
What does AQI 34 mean for health? ▼
An AQI of 34 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 Grand Island, NE compare to other metro areas? ▼
The Grand Island, NE metro has 82.5% good air days. Similar metros: Arkadelphia, AR (96.7% good), Augusta-Waterville, ME (85.2% good), Beatrice, NE (75.8% good).
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Grand Island, NE? ▼
The 90th percentile AQI for the Grand Island, NE metro area is 54, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 118 (USG).

Data Sources

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