Metro area air quality · 2025

Prescott, AZ

Median AQI 47 (Good). 65.9% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

47
Median AQI
65.9%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
35%
Cleaner than US metros

Prescott, AZ posted a 2025 median AQI of 47 (Good) with 65.9% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Prescott, AZ CBSA recorded a median AQI of 47 across 355 monitored days in 2025, with 65.9% 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 Prescott, AZ CBSA's 65.9% Good-day share places it cleaner than 35% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Charleston-North Charleston, SC (60.3% Good, median AQI 47) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Prescott, AZ.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Prescott, AZ's Good-day share moved -14.4 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +2).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 47

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 355 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

Prescott, AZ's median AQI 47 is in the upper (dirtier) CBSA tercile on this site. On the EPA scale the metro runs good, more polluted than the median US metro, with a median AQI of 47 and 65.9% of 355 monitored days in the Good band.

47
median AQI · Good
65.9%
days rated Good
35%
cleaner than US metros
97
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
  • Prescott, AZ metro's Good-day share rose from 61.8% to 65.9% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +4.1 percentage points.
  • Prescott, AZ metro's peak single-day AQI fell from 115 to 97 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -18 points.

Compared against 364 monitored days in 2024 and 355 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

Prescott, AZ's median AQI 47 is in the upper (dirtier) CBSA tercile on this site. Signature read: median AQI 47 (high tercile vs CBSA corpus). Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 47 over 355 measured days in 2025 (Good / Moderate). The monitored-day split lands at 234 Good (66%), 121 Moderate (34%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 67; the highest single-day reading hit 97 (Moderate).

Across 2020–2025, Good-day share shifted -14.4 points and median AQI moved +2 (worsening). No Unhealthy-tier days appear in this annual dataset. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Charleston-North Charleston, SC (60.3% good, AQI 47); Columbia, SC (58.1% good, AQI 47); Corsicana, TX (59.2% good, AQI 47).

Health effects of air pollution →

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

47

Good

Good Days

65.9%

234 of 355 days

Max AQI

97

Moderate

Health Grade

Moderate

90th pct: 67

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 355 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

234

66%

Moderate

121

34%

USG

0

0%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Moderate

The Prescott, AZ metro area's air quality is rated Moderate based on 65.9% 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 Prescott, AZ metro compare?

How Prescott, AZ compares

Good-day share worse than typical
Prescott, AZ 65.9%
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 60.3%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI worse than typical
Prescott, AZ 47
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 47
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Prescott, AZ 0
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 0
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is worsening in the Prescott, AZ metro. Highest Good-day share: 2022 (93.4%, 341 of 365 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 265 65 0 45
2021 302 29 0 44
2022 341 24 0 40
2023 298 66 0 43
2024 225 139 0 47
2025 234 121 0 47

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Prescott, AZ (47).

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

Median AQI 47 · 60.3% Good-day share

47

Columbia, SC

Median AQI 47 · 58.1% Good-day share

47

Corsicana, TX

Median AQI 47 · 59.2% Good-day share

47

Dayton, OH

Median AQI 47 · 57.0% Good-day share

47

Evansville, IN-KY

Median AQI 47 · 57.5% Good-day share

47

Farmington, NM

Median AQI 47 · 68.0% Good-day share

47

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Prescott, AZ'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

What does AQI 47 mean for health? ▼
An AQI of 47 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 many unhealthy air days does Prescott, AZ have? ▼
In 2025, the Prescott, AZ metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 97.
What is the air quality in the Prescott, AZ metro area? ▼
The Prescott, AZ metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 47, rated "Good." 65.9% of monitored days (234 out of 355) had good air quality in 2025.
Is air quality in Prescott, AZ getting better or worse? ▼
Air quality in the Prescott, AZ 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 93.4% (341 of 365 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2024 at 61.8% (225 of 364 days).
How does Prescott, AZ compare to other metro areas? ▼
The Prescott, AZ metro has 65.9% good air days. Similar metros: Charleston-North Charleston, SC (60.3% good), Columbia, SC (58.1% good), Corsicana, TX (59.2% good).
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Prescott, AZ? ▼
The 90th percentile AQI for the Prescott, AZ metro area is 67, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 97 (Moderate).

Data Sources

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