Metro area air quality · 2025

Rochester, NY

Median AQI 39 (Good). 74.3% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

39
Median AQI
74.3%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
54%
Cleaner than US metros

Rochester, NY posted a 2025 median AQI of 39 (Good) with 74.3% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Rochester, NY CBSA recorded a median AQI of 39 across 365 monitored days in 2025, with 74.3% 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 Rochester, NY CBSA's 74.3% Good-day share places it cleaner than 54% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Bay City, MI (70.4% Good, median AQI 39) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Rochester, NY.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Rochester, NY's Good-day share moved +0.8 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI -2).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 39

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 365 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

The Rochester, NY metro runs good on the EPA scale, cleaner than the median US metro, a median AQI of 39 with 74.3% of 365 monitored days in the Good band.

39
median AQI · Good
74.3%
days rated Good
54%
cleaner than US metros
135
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
  • Rochester, NY metro's peak single-day AQI rose from 90 to 135 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +45 points.
  • Rochester, NY metro's Good-day share rose from 73.2% to 75.7% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +2.5 percentage points.

Compared against 366 monitored days in 2024 and 358 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: Rochester, NY metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 39 over 365 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Moderate metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 271 Good days (74%), 87 Moderate (24%), and 7 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (2%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 61 while the highest single-day reading hit 135 (USG). Metro residents averaged roughly 22.3 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 +0.8 points and the median AQI moved -2 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 Bay City, MI (70.4% good, AQI 39); Brainerd, MN (74.3% good, AQI 39); Cambridge, MD (86.0% good, AQI 39).

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

39

Good

Good Days

74.3%

271 of 365 days

Max AQI

135

USG

Health Grade

Moderate

90th pct: 61

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 365 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

271

74%

Moderate

87

24%

USG

7

2%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Moderate

The Rochester, NY metro area's air quality is rated Moderate based on 74.3% 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 Rochester, NY metro compare?

How Rochester, NY compares

Good-day share better than typical
Rochester, NY 74.3%
Bay City, MI 70.4%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI better than typical
Rochester, NY 39
Bay City, MI 39
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Rochester, NY 0
Bay City, MI 0
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is stable in the Rochester, NY metro. Highest Good-day share: 2025 (75.7%, 271 of 358 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 274 92 0 41
2021 239 126 0 44
2022 270 93 0 42
2023 237 117 5 43
2024 268 98 0 39
2025 271 87 0 39

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Rochester, NY (39).

Bay City, MI

Median AQI 39 · 70.4% Good-day share

39

Brainerd, MN

Median AQI 39 · 74.3% Good-day share

39

Cambridge, MD

Median AQI 39 · 86.0% Good-day share

39

Charleston, WV

Median AQI 39 · 77.0% Good-day share

39

Dalton, GA

Median AQI 39 · 90.3% Good-day share

39

Harrisonburg, VA

Median AQI 39 · 80.0% Good-day share

39

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Rochester, NY'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 Rochester, NY metro area? ▼
The Rochester, NY metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 39, rated "Good." 74.3% of monitored days (271 out of 365) had good air quality in 2025.
How many unhealthy air days does Rochester, NY have? ▼
In 2025, the Rochester, NY metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 135.
Is air quality in Rochester, NY getting better or worse? ▼
Air quality in the Rochester, NY 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: 2025 at 75.7% (271 of 358 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2021 at 65.5% (239 of 365 days).
What does AQI 39 mean for health? ▼
An AQI of 39 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 Rochester, NY? ▼
The 90th percentile AQI for the Rochester, NY metro area is 61, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 135 (USG).
How does Rochester, NY compare to other metro areas? ▼
The Rochester, NY metro has 74.3% good air days. Similar metros: Bay City, MI (70.4% good), Brainerd, MN (74.3% good), Cambridge, MD (86.0% 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.

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.