Metro area air quality · 2025

Trenton, NJ

Median AQI 43 (Good). 69.9% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.

43
Median AQI
69.9%
Good-air days
0
Unhealthy days
45%
Cleaner than US metros

Trenton, NJ posted a 2025 median AQI of 43 (Good) with 69.9% Good days

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Trenton, NJ CBSA recorded a median AQI of 43 across 365 monitored days in 2025, with 69.9% 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 Trenton, NJ CBSA's 69.9% Good-day share places it cleaner than 45% of US metros in 2025.
Closest median-AQI peer
Ashtabula, OH (81.2% Good, median AQI 43) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Trenton, NJ.
2020–2025 Good-day shift
Trenton, NJ's Good-day share moved -1.1 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +1).
Median AQI
Median AQI: 43

Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 365 monitored days. EPA AQS →

The verdict

The Trenton, NJ metro runs good on the EPA scale, more polluted than the median US metro, a median AQI of 43 with 69.9% of 365 monitored days in the Good band.

43
median AQI · Good
69.9%
days rated Good
45%
cleaner than US metros
126
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
  • Trenton, NJ metro's Good-day share rose from 68.1% to 71.0% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of +2.9 percentage points.

Compared against 361 monitored days in 2024 and 359 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

Insights: Trenton, NJ metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 43 over 365 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Moderate metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 255 Good days (70%), 104 Moderate (28%), and 6 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (2%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 63 while the highest single-day reading hit 126 (USG). Metro residents averaged roughly 21.0 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 -1.1 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 Ashtabula, OH (81.2% good, AQI 43); Bloomington, IN (67.7% good, AQI 43); Champaign-Urbana, IL (65.8% good, AQI 43).

Air Quality Summary

Median AQI

43

Good

Good Days

69.9%

255 of 365 days

Max AQI

126

USG

Health Grade

Moderate

90th pct: 63

AQI Day Breakdown (2025)

Distribution of 365 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.

Good

255

70%

Moderate

104

28%

USG

6

2%

Unhealthy

0

0%

Very Unhealthy

0

0%

Hazardous

0

0%

Health Impact Assessment

Moderate

The Trenton, NJ metro area's air quality is rated Moderate based on 69.9% 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 Trenton, NJ metro compare?

How Trenton, NJ compares

Good-day share worse than typical
Trenton, NJ 69.9%
Ashtabula, OH 81.2%
Typical US metro 70.6%
Median AQI worse than typical
Trenton, NJ 43
Ashtabula, OH 43
Typical US metro 41
Unhealthy days / yr better than typical
Trenton, NJ 0
Ashtabula, OH 0
Typical US metro 1

5-Year Air Quality Trend

Air quality is stable in the Trenton, NJ metro. Highest Good-day share: 2020 (72.2%, 262 of 363 monitored days).

Year Good Moderate Unhealthy Median AQI
2020 262 101 0 42
2021 193 165 0 48
2022 227 135 0 46
2023 194 160 4 49
2024 246 115 0 43
2025 255 104 0 43

Metros with a similar median AQI

CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Trenton, NJ (43).

Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure

A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Trenton, NJ's 0 (independent of median AQI).

More Air Quality Data

Explore EPA air quality rankings and guides across U.S. metros and counties.

Air Quality Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the air quality in the Trenton, NJ metro area?
The Trenton, NJ metro area has a median Air Quality Index (AQI) of 43, rated "Good." 69.9% of monitored days (255 out of 365) had good air quality in 2025.
How many unhealthy air days does Trenton, NJ have?
In 2025, the Trenton, NJ metro area recorded 0 unhealthy air days (0 Unhealthy, 0 Very Unhealthy, 0 Hazardous). The maximum AQI reached 126.
Is air quality in Trenton, NJ getting better or worse?
Air quality in the Trenton, NJ 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 72.2% (262 of 363 days). Lowest qualifying Good-day share: 2021 at 53.9% (193 of 358 days).
What does AQI 43 mean for health?
An AQI of 43 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 Trenton, NJ?
The 90th percentile AQI for the Trenton, NJ metro area is 63, meaning 90% of monitored days had an AQI at or below this level. The maximum AQI recorded was 126 (USG).
How does Trenton, NJ compare to other metro areas?
The Trenton, NJ metro has 69.9% good air days. Similar metros: Ashtabula, OH (81.2% good), Bloomington, IN (67.7% good), Champaign-Urbana, IL (65.8% 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.

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.