Metro area air quality · 2025

Traverse City, MI

Median AQI 35 (Good). 91.1% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

Compiled by PlainAirData · August 4, 2026

35
Median AQI: 91.1%
Good-air days: 0
Unhealthy days: 88%
Cleaner than US metros

Traverse City, MI posted a 2025 median AQI of 35 (Good) with 91.1% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Traverse City, MI CBSA recorded a median AQI of 35 across 214 monitored days in 2025, with 91.1% 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 Traverse City, MI CBSA's 91.1% Good-day share places it cleaner than 88% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer: Baraboo, WI (75.6% Good, median AQI 35) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Traverse City, MI.
2020–2025 Good-day shift: Traverse City, MI's Good-day share moved -2.4 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI -1).
Median AQI: Median AQI: 35

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 214 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

The Traverse City, MI metro runs good on the EPA scale, cleaner than most US metros, a median AQI of 35 with 91.1% of 214 monitored days in the Good band.

35
median AQI · Good: 91.1%
days rated Good: 88%
cleaner than US metros: 80
worst single reading

No day crossed into the Unhealthy tier across the metro's monitors in 2025.

Traverse City, MI metro's Good-day share rose from 88.9% to 91.1% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +2.2 percentage points.
Traverse City, MI metro's peak single-day AQI fell from 101 to 80 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -21 points.
Traverse City, MI metro's median AQI fell from 38 to 35 between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -3 points.

Insights: Traverse City, MI metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 35 over 214 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Excellent metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 195 Good days (91%), 19 Moderate (9%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 50 while the highest single-day reading hit 80 (Moderate). Metro residents averaged roughly 27.3 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 -2.4 points (measured against 261 monitored days in 2020 and 214 in 2025, so raw day counts are not comparable) 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 Baraboo, WI (75.6% good, AQI 35); Effingham, IL (95.5% good, AQI 35); Ithaca, NY (93.2% good, AQI 35).

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

Good

Good Days

91.1%

195 of 214 days

Max AQI

Moderate

Health Grade

Excellent

90th pct: 50

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 214 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

195

91%

Moderate

USG

Unhealthy

Very Unhealthy

Hazardous

Health Impact Assessment

Excellent

The Traverse City, MI metro area's air quality is rated Excellent based on 91.1% 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 Traverse City, MI metro compare?

How Traverse City, MI compares

Compare against

Good-day share better than typical

Traverse City, MI 91.1%

Baraboo, WI 75.6%

Typical US metro 70.6%

Median AQI better than typical

Traverse City, MI 35

Baraboo, WI 35

Typical US metro 41

Unhealthy days / yr better than typical

Traverse City, MI 0

Baraboo, WI 1

Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is stable in the Traverse City, MI metro. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (93.5%, 244 of 261 monitored days).

Year	Good	Moderate	Unhealthy	Median AQI	Max AQI
2020	244	16	1	36	164
2021	222	29	0	36	100
2022	218	22	1	36	151
2023	198	37	1	38	156
2024	216	27	0	38	101
2025	195	19	0	35	80

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Traverse City, MI (35).

Baraboo, WI

Median AQI 35 · 75.6% Good-day share

Effingham, IL

Median AQI 35 · 95.5% Good-day share

Ithaca, NY

Median AQI 35 · 93.2% Good-day share

Kinston, NC

Median AQI 35 · 97.5% Good-day share

Meridian, MS

Median AQI 35 · 94.6% Good-day share

Morehead City, NC

Median AQI 35 · 96.2% Good-day share

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Traverse City, MI'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 Traverse City, MI metro area? ▼

The Traverse City, MI metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 35, rated "Good." 91.1% of monitored days (195 out of 214) had good air quality in 2025.

How many unhealthy air days does Traverse City, MI have? ▼

In 2025, the Traverse City, MI metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 80.

Is air quality in Traverse City, MI getting better or worse? ▼

Air quality in the Traverse City, MI 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: 2020 at 93.5% (244 of 261 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2023 at 83.9% (198 of 236 days).

What does AQI 35 mean for health? ▼

An AQI of 35 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 Traverse City, MI? ▼

The 90th percentile AQI for the Traverse City, MI metro area is 50, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 80 (Moderate).

How does Traverse City, MI compare to other metro areas? ▼

The Traverse City, MI metro has 91.1% good air days. Similar metros: Baraboo, WI (75.6% good), Effingham, IL (95.5% good), Ithaca, NY (93.2% 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 Accessed 2026-07-06

Send the source-year summary or download its ready-to-use data card.

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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.