Metro area air quality · 2025
Sioux Falls, SD
Median AQI 36 (Good). 80.8% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.
- 36
- Median AQI
- 80.8%
- Good-air days
- 0
- Unhealthy days
- 69%
- Cleaner than US metros
Sioux Falls, SD posted a 2025 median AQI of 36 (Good) with 80.8% Good days
According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Sioux Falls, SD CBSA recorded a median AQI of 36 across 364 monitored days in 2025, with 80.8% 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 Sioux Falls, SD CBSA's 80.8% Good-day share places it cleaner than 69% of US metros in 2025.
- Closest median-AQI peer
- Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ (82.2% Good, median AQI 36) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Sioux Falls, SD.
- 2020–2025 Good-day shift
- Sioux Falls, SD's Good-day share moved +0.2 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI -2).
- Median AQI
- Median AQI: 36
Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 364 monitored days. EPA AQS →
The verdict
The Sioux Falls, SD metro runs good on the EPA scale, cleaner than the median US metro, a median AQI of 36 with 80.8% of 364 monitored days in the Good band.
- 36
- median AQI · Good
- 80.8%
- days rated Good
- 69%
- cleaner than US metros
- 125
- 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
- Sioux Falls, SD metro's peak single-day AQI fell from 145 to 125 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -20 points.
Insights: Sioux Falls, SD metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 36 over 364 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Good metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 294 Good days (81%), 66 Moderate (18%), and 4 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (1%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 58 while the highest single-day reading hit 125 (USG). Metro residents averaged roughly 24.2 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 +0.2 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 Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ (82.2% good, AQI 36); Barnstable Town, MA (93.7% good, AQI 36); Bemidji, MN (79.1% good, AQI 36).
Air Quality Summary
Median AQI
36
Good
Good Days
80.8%
294 of 364 days
Max AQI
125
USG
Health Grade
Good
90th pct: 58
AQI Day Breakdown (2025)
Distribution of 364 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.
Good
294
81%
Moderate
66
18%
USG
4
1%
Unhealthy
0
0%
Very Unhealthy
0
0%
Hazardous
0
0%
Health Impact Assessment
The Sioux Falls, SD metro area's air quality is rated Good based on 80.8% 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 Sioux Falls, SD metro compare?
How Sioux Falls, SD compares
5-Year Air Quality Trend
Air quality is stable in the Sioux Falls, SD metro. Highest Good-day share: 2022 (82.4%, 300 of 364 monitored days).
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy | Median AQI | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 298 | 68 | 0 | 38 | 90 |
| 2021 | 266 | 78 | 2 | 39 | 193 |
| 2022 | 300 | 64 | 0 | 39 | 105 |
| 2023 | 235 | 103 | 4 | 44 | 181 |
| 2024 | 297 | 66 | 0 | 34 | 145 |
| 2025 | 294 | 66 | 0 | 36 | 125 |
Metros with a similar median AQI
CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Sioux Falls, SD (36).
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ
Median AQI 36 · 82.2% Good-day share
Barnstable Town, MA
Median AQI 36 · 93.7% Good-day share
Bemidji, MN
Median AQI 36 · 79.1% Good-day share
Claremont-Lebanon, NH-VT
Median AQI 36 · 83.6% Good-day share
Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL
Median AQI 36 · 93.9% Good-day share
East Stroudsburg, PA
Median AQI 36 · 88.3% Good-day share
Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure
A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Sioux Falls, SD's 0 (independent of median AQI).
Aberdeen, SD
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 27
Aberdeen, WA
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 22
Adrian, MI
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 41
Akron, OH
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 45
Albany, GA
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 46
Albany, OR
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 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 Sioux Falls, SD metro area? ▼
How many unhealthy air days does Sioux Falls, SD have? ▼
Is air quality in Sioux Falls, SD getting better or worse? ▼
What does AQI 36 mean for health? ▼
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Sioux Falls, SD? ▼
How does Sioux Falls, SD compare to other metro areas? ▼
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.