Insights: Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 54 over 181 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Moderate band and a Poor metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 54 Good days (30%), 126 Moderate (70%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 63 while the highest single-day reading hit 186 (Unhealthy). Metro residents averaged roughly 9.0 clean-air days per 30-day window across the reporting year.

Across the 2020–2025 trend window, good days shifted by -145 and the median AQI moved +6 points, which classifies the multi-year trajectory as worsening. The metro recorded 1 unhealthy-or-worse days combined, on those days the EPA recommends that sensitive groups limit prolonged outdoor exertion, and many schools and athletic programs adjust outdoor activity accordingly. Metros with comparable AQI profiles include Baton Rouge, LA (35.0% good, AQI 54); Bishop, CA (40.7% good, AQI 54); Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (34.3% good, AQI 54).