Metro area air quality · 2025

Lincoln, NE

Median AQI 37 (Good). 85.4% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

37
Median AQI
85.4%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
79%
Cleaner than US metros

Lincoln, NE posted a 2025 median AQI of 37 (Good) with 85.4% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Lincoln, NE CBSA recorded a median AQI of 37 across 281 monitored days in 2025, with 85.4% 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 Lincoln, NE CBSA's 85.4% Good-day share places it cleaner than 79% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Alexandria, LA (73.7% Good, median AQI 37) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Lincoln, NE.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Lincoln, NE's Good-day share moved -7.1 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +2).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 37

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 281 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

Lincoln, NE sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (85.4% of 281 monitored days). On the EPA scale the metro runs good, cleaner than most US metros, with a median AQI of 37 and 85.4% of 281 monitored days in the Good band.

37
median AQI · Good
85.4%
days rated Good
79%
cleaner than US metros
87
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
  • Lincoln, NE metro's Good-day share rose from 83.7% to 85.4% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +1.7 percentage points.
  • Lincoln, NE metro's median AQI fell from 41 to 37 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -4 points.

Compared against 283 monitored days in 2024 and 281 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

Lincoln, NE sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (85.4% of 281 monitored days). Signature read: 85.4% 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 37 over 281 measured days in 2025 (Good / Good). The monitored-day split lands at 240 Good (85%), 41 Moderate (15%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 54; the highest single-day reading hit 87 (Moderate).

Across 2020–2025, Good-day share shifted -7.1 points and median AQI moved +2 (worsening). No Unhealthy-tier days appear in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Alexandria, LA (73.7% good, AQI 37); Athens, TN (78.2% good, AQI 37); Bennington, VT (83.6% good, AQI 37).

Best and worst city air quality →

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

37

Good

Good Days

85.4%

240 of 281 days

Max AQI

87

Moderate

Health Grade

Good

90th pct: 54

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 281 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

240

85%

Moderate

41

15%

USG

0

0%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Good

The Lincoln, NE metro area's air quality is rated Good based on 85.4% 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 Lincoln, NE metro compare?

How Lincoln, NE compares

Good-day share better than typical
Lincoln, NE 85.4%
Alexandria, LA 73.7%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI better than typical
Lincoln, NE 37
Alexandria, LA 37
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Lincoln, NE 0
Alexandria, LA 0
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is worsening in the Lincoln, NE metro. Highest Good-day share: 2022 (93.1%, 258 of 277 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 261 21 0 35
2021 246 30 0 37
2022 258 19 0 37
2023 197 83 1 42
2024 237 46 0 41
2025 240 41 0 37

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Lincoln, NE (37).

Alexandria, LA

Median AQI 37 · 73.7% Good-day share

37

Athens, TN

Median AQI 37 · 78.2% Good-day share

37

Bennington, VT

Median AQI 37 · 83.6% Good-day share

37

Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA

Median AQI 37 · 94.4% Good-day share

37

Cadillac, MI

Median AQI 37 · 86.0% Good-day share

37

Chambersburg-Waynesboro, PA

Median AQI 37 · 91.5% Good-day share

37

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Lincoln, 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 Lincoln, NE have? ▼
In 2025, the Lincoln, NE metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 87.
What is the air quality in the Lincoln, NE metro area? ▼
The Lincoln, NE metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 37, rated "Good." 85.4% of monitored days (240 out of 281) had good air quality in 2025.
Is air quality in Lincoln, NE getting better or worse? ▼
Air quality in the Lincoln, 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: 2022 at 93.1% (258 of 277 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 70.1% (197 of 281 days).
What does AQI 37 mean for health? ▼
An AQI of 37 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 Lincoln, NE compare to other metro areas? ▼
The Lincoln, NE metro has 85.4% good air days. Similar metros: Alexandria, LA (73.7% good), Athens, TN (78.2% good), Bennington, VT (83.6% good).
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Lincoln, NE? ▼
The 90th percentile AQI for the Lincoln, NE metro area is 54, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 87 (Moderate).

Data Sources

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