Metro area air quality · 2025
The Dalles, OR
Median AQI 25 (Good). 86.3% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.
- 25
- Median AQI
- 86.3%
- Good-air days
- 0
- Unhealthy days
- 81%
- Cleaner than US metros
The Dalles, OR posted a 2025 median AQI of 25 (Good) with 86.3% Good days
According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the The Dalles, OR CBSA recorded a median AQI of 25 across 365 monitored days in 2025, with 86.3% 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 The Dalles, OR CBSA's 86.3% Good-day share places it cleaner than 81% of US metros in 2025.
- Closest median-AQI peer
- Ellensburg, WA (80.0% Good, median AQI 25) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to The Dalles, OR.
- 2020–2025 Good-day shift
- The Dalles, OR's Good-day share moved -0.9 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +1).
- Median AQI
- Median AQI: 25
Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 365 monitored days. EPA AQS →
The verdict
The The Dalles, OR metro runs good on the EPA scale, cleaner than most US metros, a median AQI of 25 with 86.3% of 365 monitored days in the Good band.
- 25
- median AQI · Good
- 86.3%
- days rated Good
- 81%
- cleaner than US metros
- 81
- 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
- The Dalles, OR metro's peak single-day AQI fell from 93 to 81 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -12 points.
Insights: The Dalles, OR metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 25 over 365 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Good metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 315 Good days (86%), 50 Moderate (14%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 54 while the highest single-day reading hit 81 (Moderate). Metro residents averaged roughly 25.9 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 -0.9 points and the median AQI moved +1 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 Ellensburg, WA (80.0% good, AQI 25); Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA (97.5% good, AQI 25); Lubbock, TX (92.9% good, AQI 24).
Air Quality Summary
Median AQI
25
Good
Good Days
86.3%
315 of 365 days
Max AQI
81
Moderate
Health Grade
Good
90th pct: 54
AQI Day Breakdown (2025)
Distribution of 365 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.
Good
315
86%
Moderate
50
14%
USG
0
0%
Unhealthy
0
0%
Very Unhealthy
0
0%
Hazardous
0
0%
Health Impact Assessment
The The Dalles, OR metro area's air quality is rated Good based on 86.3% 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 The Dalles, OR metro compare?
How The Dalles, OR compares
5-Year Air Quality Trend
Air quality is stable in the The Dalles, OR metro. Highest Good-day share: 2022 (100.0%, 161 of 161 monitored days).
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy | Median AQI | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 307 | 45 | 0 | 24 | 599 |
| 2021 | 287 | 30 | 1 | 22 | 163 |
| 2022 | 161 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 50 |
| 2023 | 244 | 40 | 2 | 27 | 214 |
| 2024 | 317 | 47 | 0 | 23 | 93 |
| 2025 | 315 | 50 | 0 | 25 | 81 |
Metros with a similar median AQI
CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near The Dalles, OR (25).
Ellensburg, WA
Median AQI 25 · 80.0% Good-day share
Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA
Median AQI 25 · 97.5% Good-day share
Lubbock, TX
Median AQI 24 · 92.9% Good-day share
Pahrump, NV
Median AQI 26 · 92.6% Good-day share
Twin Falls, ID
Median AQI 26 · 92.9% Good-day share
Aberdeen, SD
Median AQI 27 · 83.6% Good-day share
Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure
A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to The Dalles, OR's 0 (independent of median AQI).
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
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
0 unhealthy-or-worse days · median AQI 41
More Air Quality Data
Explore EPA air quality rankings and guides across U.S. metros and counties.
Cleanest Metro Areas
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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 The Dalles, OR metro area? ▼
How many unhealthy air days does The Dalles, OR have? ▼
Is air quality in The Dalles, OR getting better or worse? ▼
What does AQI 25 mean for health? ▼
What is the 90th percentile AQI for The Dalles, OR? ▼
How does The Dalles, OR 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.