Metro area air quality · 2025

Morehead City, NC

Median AQI 35 (Good). 96.2% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

35
Median AQI
96.2%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
96%
Cleaner than US metros

Morehead City, NC posted a 2025 median AQI of 35 (Good) with 96.2% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Morehead City, NC CBSA recorded a median AQI of 35 across 345 monitored days in 2025, with 96.2% 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 Morehead City, NC CBSA's 96.2% Good-day share places it cleaner than 96% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Baraboo, WI (75.6% Good, median AQI 35) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Morehead City, NC.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Morehead City, NC's Good-day share moved -2.9 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +1).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 35

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 345 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

The Morehead City, NC metro runs good on the EPA scale, among the cleanest 10% of US metros, a median AQI of 35 with 96.2% of 345 monitored days in the Good band.

35
median AQI · Good
96.2%
days rated Good
96%
cleaner than US metros
80
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
  • Morehead City, NC metro's Good-day share fell from 98.1% to 96.2% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -1.8 percentage points.

Compared against 364 monitored days in 2024 and 345 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: Morehead City, NC metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 35 over 345 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Excellent metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 332 Good days (96%), 13 Moderate (4%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 46 while the highest single-day reading hit 80 (Moderate). Metro residents averaged roughly 28.9 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 -2.9 points and the median AQI moved +1 points, which classifies the multi-year trajectory as stable. The metro recorded no Unhealthy-tier days in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Baraboo, WI (75.6% good, AQI 35); Effingham, IL (95.5% good, AQI 35); Ithaca, NY (93.2% good, AQI 35).

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

35

Good

Good Days

96.2%

332 of 345 days

Max AQI

80

Moderate

Health Grade

Excellent

90th pct: 46

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 345 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

332

96%

Moderate

13

4%

USG

0

0%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Excellent

The Morehead City, NC metro area's air quality is rated Excellent based on 96.2% 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 Morehead City, NC metro compare?

How Morehead City, NC compares

Good-day share better than typical
Morehead City, NC 96.2%
Baraboo, WI 75.6%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI better than typical
Morehead City, NC 35
Baraboo, WI 35
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Morehead City, NC 0
Baraboo, WI 1
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is stable in the Morehead City, NC metro. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (99.2%, 359 of 362 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 359 3 0 34
2021 337 15 0 35
2022 346 13 0 35
2023 319 31 0 38
2024 357 7 0 35
2025 332 13 0 35

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Morehead City, NC (35).

Baraboo, WI

Median AQI 35 · 75.6% Good-day share

35

Effingham, IL

Median AQI 35 · 95.5% Good-day share

35

Ithaca, NY

Median AQI 35 · 93.2% Good-day share

35

Kinston, NC

Median AQI 35 · 97.5% Good-day share

35

Meridian, MS

Median AQI 35 · 94.6% Good-day share

35

Salem, OR

Median AQI 35 · 80.0% Good-day share

35

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Morehead City, NC'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

More Air Quality Data

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

Cleanest Metro Areas

U.S. metros ranked by their share of Good air-quality days.

Worst Air Quality

Counties and metros with the most unhealthy air days.

All Metro Areas

Annual AQI by CBSA for every monitored U.S. metro area.

Best and Worst City Air

What drives urban air quality and how metro areas compare.

Air Quality Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the air quality in the Morehead City, NC metro area? ▼
The Morehead City, NC metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 35, rated "Good." 96.2% of monitored days (332 out of 345) had good air quality in 2025.
How many unhealthy air days does Morehead City, NC have? ▼
In 2025, the Morehead City, NC metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 80.
Is air quality in Morehead City, NC getting better or worse? ▼
Air quality in the Morehead City, NC metro is stable 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 99.2% (359 of 362 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 91.1% (319 of 350 days).
What does AQI 35 mean for health? ▼
An AQI of 35 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 Morehead City, NC? ▼
The 90th percentile AQI for the Morehead City, NC metro area is 46, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 80 (Moderate).
How does Morehead City, NC compare to other metro areas? ▼
The Morehead City, NC metro has 96.2% good air days. Similar metros: Baraboo, WI (75.6% good), Effingham, IL (95.5% good), Ithaca, NY (93.2% 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.

Read our methodology , how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

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.