Metro area air quality · 2025
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC
Median AQI 44 (Good). 69.0% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.
- 44
- Median AQI
- 69.0%
- Good-air days
- 0
- Unhealthy days
- 43%
- Cleaner than US metros
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC posted a 2025 median AQI of 44 (Good) with 69.0% Good days
According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC CBSA recorded a median AQI of 44 across 361 monitored days in 2025, with 69.0% 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC CBSA's 69.0% Good-day share places it cleaner than 43% 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC.
- 2020–2025 Good-day shift
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC's Good-day share moved -0.4 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +0).
- Median AQI
- Median AQI: 44
Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 361 monitored days. EPA AQS →
The verdict
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC's peak reading 88 stays in the lower max-AQI tercile on this extract. On the EPA scale the metro runs good, more polluted than the median US metro, with a median AQI of 44 and 69.0% of 361 monitored days in the Good band.
- 44
- median AQI · Good
- 69.0%
- days rated Good
- 43%
- cleaner than US metros
- 88
- 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
- Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro's Good-day share rose from 64.2% to 69.0% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +4.8 percentage points.
Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC's peak reading 88 stays in the lower max-AQI tercile on this extract. Signature read: peak AQI 88 (low tercile vs CBSA corpus). Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 44 over 361 measured days in 2025 (Good / Moderate). The monitored-day split lands at 249 Good (69%), 112 Moderate (31%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 59; the highest single-day reading hit 88 (Moderate).
Across 2020–2025, Good-day share shifted -0.4 points and median AQI moved +0 (stable). No Unhealthy-tier days appear 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
69.0%
249 of 361 days
Max AQI
88
Moderate
Health Grade
Moderate
90th pct: 59
AQI Day Breakdown (2025)
Distribution of 361 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.
Good
249
69%
Moderate
112
31%
USG
0
0%
Unhealthy
0
0%
Very Unhealthy
0
0%
Hazardous
0
0%
Health Impact Assessment
The Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area's air quality is rated Moderate based on 69.0% 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 Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro compare?
How Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC compares
5-Year Air Quality Trend
Air quality is stable in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (69.3%, 251 of 362 monitored days).
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy | Median AQI | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 251 | 111 | 0 | 44 | 95 |
| 2021 | 209 | 151 | 0 | 47 | 94 |
| 2022 | 230 | 135 | 0 | 46 | 90 |
| 2023 | 223 | 138 | 0 | 46 | 115 |
| 2024 | 235 | 131 | 0 | 46 | 93 |
| 2025 | 249 | 112 | 0 | 44 | 88 |
Metros with a similar median AQI
CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC (44).
Bartlesville, OK
Median AQI 44 · 68.0% Good-day share
Berlin, NH-VT
Median AQI 44 · 81.5% Good-day share
Bloomington, IL
Median AQI 44 · 66.0% Good-day share
Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
Median AQI 44 · 71.0% Good-day share
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
Median AQI 44 · 64.7% Good-day share
Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY
Median AQI 44 · 63.8% Good-day share
Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure
A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC'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
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC? ▼
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What is the air quality in the Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC metro area? ▼
Is air quality in Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC getting better or worse? ▼
What does AQI 44 mean for health? ▼
How does Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC compare to other metro areas? ▼
Data Sources
Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by CBSA dataset for Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC, 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, Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC · 2020–2025