Metro area air quality · 2025

Ponce, PR

Median AQI 3 (Good). 91.4% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

3
Median AQI
91.4%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
89%
Cleaner than US metros

Ponce, PR posted a 2025 median AQI of 3 (Good) with 91.4% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Ponce, PR CBSA recorded a median AQI of 3 across 257 monitored days in 2025, with 91.4% 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 Ponce, PR CBSA's 91.4% Good-day share places it cleaner than 89% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Evanston, WY (100.0% Good, median AQI 9) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Ponce, PR.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Ponce, PR's Good-day share moved +2.8 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI -20).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 3

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 257 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

The Ponce, PR metro runs good on the EPA scale, cleaner than most US metros, a median AQI of 3 with 91.4% of 257 monitored days in the Good band.

3
median AQI · Good
91.4%
days rated Good
89%
cleaner than US metros
74
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
  • Ponce, PR metro's Good-day share fell from 94.3% to 91.4% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -2.9 percentage points.

Compared against 336 monitored days in 2024 and 257 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: Ponce, PR metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 3 over 257 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Excellent metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 235 Good days (91%), 22 Moderate (9%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 42 while the highest single-day reading hit 74 (Moderate). Metro residents averaged roughly 27.4 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 +2.8 points (measured against 360 monitored days in 2020 and 257 in 2025, so raw day counts are not comparable) and the median AQI moved -20 points, which classifies the multi-year trajectory as improving. The metro recorded no Unhealthy-tier days in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Evanston, WY (100.0% good, AQI 9); Mayaguez, PR (97.8% good, AQI 9); Santa Rosa, CA (100.0% good, AQI 9).

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

3

Good

Good Days

91.4%

235 of 257 days

Max AQI

74

Moderate

Health Grade

Excellent

90th pct: 42

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 257 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

235

91%

Moderate

22

9%

USG

0

0%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Excellent

The Ponce, PR metro area's air quality is rated Excellent based on 91.4% 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 Ponce, PR metro compare?

How Ponce, PR compares

Good-day share better than typical
Ponce, PR 91.4%
Evanston, WY 100.0%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI better than typical
Ponce, PR 3
Evanston, WY 9
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Ponce, PR 0
Evanston, WY 0
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is improving in the Ponce, PR metro. Highest Good-day share: 2024 (94.3%, 317 of 336 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 319 41 0 23
2021 176 37 1 30
2022 264 31 0 18
2023 258 82 0 30
2024 317 19 0 3
2025 235 22 0 3

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Ponce, PR (3).

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Ponce, PR's 0 (independent of median AQI).

More Air Quality Data

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

Air Quality Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the air quality in the Ponce, PR metro area?
The Ponce, PR metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 3, rated "Good." 91.4% of monitored days (235 out of 257) had good air quality in 2025.
How many unhealthy air days does Ponce, PR have?
In 2025, the Ponce, PR metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 74.
Is air quality in Ponce, PR getting better or worse?
Air quality in the Ponce, PR metro is improving across floor-qualifying years (2020-2025); years with fewer than 100 monitored days are excluded from that direction. Highest qualifying Good-day share: 2024 at 94.3% (317 of 336 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 75.9% (258 of 340 days).
What does AQI 3 mean for health?
An AQI of 3 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 Ponce, PR?
The 90th percentile AQI for the Ponce, PR metro area is 42, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 74 (Moderate).
How does Ponce, PR compare to other metro areas?
The Ponce, PR metro has 91.4% good air days. Similar metros: Evanston, WY (100.0% good), Mayaguez, PR (97.8% good), Santa Rosa, CA (100.0% 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.

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.