Metro area air quality · 2024

New Castle, PA

Median AQI 24 (Good). 100.0% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

24
Median AQI
100.0%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days

New Castle, PA posted a 2024 median AQI of 24 (Good) with 100.0% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the New Castle, PA CBSA recorded a median AQI of 24 across 31 monitored days in 2024, with 100.0% rated Good and 0 unhealthy or worse. This is an annual metro comparison, not a live advisory.

Data source EPA Air Quality System (AQS)

Closest median-AQI peer
Americus, GA (93.4% Good, median AQI 38) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to New Castle, PA.
2020–2024 Good-day shift
New Castle, PA's Good-day share moved +2.5 points from 2020 to 2024 (median AQI -7).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 24
Good days
Good days: 100.0%

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2024), 31 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

New Castle, PA sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (100.0% of 31 monitored days). On the EPA scale the metro runs good, with a median AQI of 24 and 100.0% of 31 monitored days in the Good band.

24
median AQI · Good
100.0%
days rated Good
31
worst single reading

No day crossed into the Unhealthy tier across the metro's monitors in 2024.

Annual release change

What changed in the 2023 EPA annual release

2022 → 2023
  • New Castle, PA metro's Good-day share rose from 92.5% to 95.5% between the 2022 and 2023 EPA annual releases, a change of +3.0 percentage points.
  • New Castle, PA metro's median AQI fell from 37 to 34 between the 2022 and 2023 EPA annual releases, a change of -3 points.

Compared against 241 monitored days in 2022 and 266 in 2023. These are arithmetic differences between two stored EPA annual summaries, not a cause claim or a live advisory.

National release changes Two-year CSV

New Castle, PA sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (100.0% of 31 monitored days). Signature read: 100.0% 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 24 over 31 measured days in 2024 (Good / Excellent). The monitored-day split lands at 31 Good (100%), 0 Moderate (0%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 29; the highest single-day reading hit 31 (Good).

Across 2020–2024, Good-day share shifted +2.5 points and median AQI moved -7 (stable). No Unhealthy-tier days appear in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Americus, GA (93.4% good, AQI 38); Summerville, GA (96.3% good, AQI 39); Ada, OK (71.6% good, AQI 43).

Best and worst city air quality →

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

24

Good

Good Days

100.0%

31 of 31 days

Max AQI

31

Good

Health Grade

Excellent

90th pct: 29

AQI Day Breakdown (2024)

Distribution of 31 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

31

100%

Moderate

0

0%

USG

0

0%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Excellent

The New Castle, PA metro area's air quality is rated Excellent based on 100.0% good air days. No unhealthy air days were recorded in 2024.

Air quality is generally acceptable. Unusually sensitive people should monitor real-time conditions at AirNow.gov during high-pollution events.

How does the New Castle, PA metro compare?

How New Castle, PA compares

Good-day share better than typical
New Castle, PA 100.0%
Americus, GA 93.4%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI better than typical
New Castle, PA 24
Americus, GA 38
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
New Castle, PA 0
Americus, GA 0
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is stable in the New Castle, PA metro. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (97.5%, 354 of 363 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 354 9 0 31
2021 259 19 0 31
2022 223 18 0 37
2023 254 12 0 34
2024 31 0 0 24

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near New Castle, PA (24).

Americus, GA

Median AQI 38 · 93.4% Good-day share

38

Summerville, GA

Median AQI 39 · 96.3% Good-day share

39

Ada, OK

Median AQI 43 · 71.6% Good-day share

43

Frequently Asked Questions

How many unhealthy air days does New Castle, PA have? ▼
In 2024, the New Castle, PA metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 31.
What is the air quality in the New Castle, PA metro area? ▼
The New Castle, PA metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 24, rated "Good." 100.0% of monitored days (31 out of 31) had good air quality in 2024.
Is air quality in New Castle, PA getting better or worse? ▼
Air quality in the New Castle, PA metro is stable across floor-qualifying years (2020-2023); years with fewer than 100 monitored days are excluded from that direction. Highest qualifying Good-day share: 2020 at 97.5% (354 of 363 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2022 at 92.5% (223 of 241 days).
What does AQI 24 mean for health? ▼
An AQI of 24 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 New Castle, PA compare to other metro areas? ▼
The New Castle, PA metro has 100.0% good air days. Similar metros: Americus, GA (93.4% good), Summerville, GA (96.3% good), Ada, OK (71.6% good).
What is the 90th percentile AQI for New Castle, PA? ▼
The 90th percentile AQI for the New Castle, PA metro area is 29, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 31 (Good).

Data Sources

Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by CBSA dataset for New Castle, PA, 2024. 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, New Castle, PA · 2020–2025