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.

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

Traverse City, MI sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (91.1% of 214 monitored days). On the EPA scale the metro runs good, cleaner than most US metros, with a median AQI of 35 and 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.

Annual release change

What changed in the 2025 EPA annual release

2024 → 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.

Compared against 243 monitored days in 2024 and 214 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

Traverse City, MI sits in the upper Good-day tercile among EPA CBSA metros on this site (91.1% of 214 monitored days). Signature read: 91.1% Good-day share (high tercile vs CBSA corpus). Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 35 over 214 measured days in 2025 (Good / Excellent). The monitored-day split lands at 195 Good (91%), 19 Moderate (9%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 50; the highest single-day reading hit 80 (Moderate).

Across 2020–2025, Good-day share shifted -2.4 points and median AQI moved -1 (stable). No Unhealthy-tier days appear 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).

Best and worst city air quality →

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

35

Good

Good Days

91.1%

195 of 214 days

Max AQI

80

Moderate

Health Grade

Excellent

90th pct: 50

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 214 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

195

91%

Moderate

19

9%

USG

0

0%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

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

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
2020 244 16 1 36
2021 222 29 0 36
2022 218 22 1 36
2023 198 37 1 38
2024 216 27 0 38
2025 195 19 0 35

Metros with a similar median AQI

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

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).

Frequently Asked Questions

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.
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.
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.
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).
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).

Data Sources

Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by CBSA dataset for Traverse City, MI, 2025. See our methodology for how AQI, median, and coverage figures are computed.

Source: U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by CBSA summary, Traverse City, MI · 2020–2025