Metro area air quality · 2025
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY
Median AQI 34 (Good). 94.7% of monitored days rated Good across this metro's EPA monitoring network.
- 34
- Median AQI
- 94.7%
- Good-air days
- 0
- Unhealthy days
- 94%
- Cleaner than US metros
Watertown-Fort Drum, NY posted a 2025 median AQI of 34 (Good) with 94.7% Good days
According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY CBSA recorded a median AQI of 34 across 355 monitored days in 2025, with 94.7% 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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY CBSA's 94.7% Good-day share places it cleaner than 94% of US metros in 2025.
- Closest median-AQI peer
- Arkadelphia, AR (96.7% Good, median AQI 34) is the closest nationwide median-AQI peer to Watertown-Fort Drum, NY.
- 2020–2025 Good-day shift
- Watertown-Fort Drum, NY's Good-day share moved -1.2 points from 2020 to 2025 (median AQI +1).
- Median AQI
- Median AQI: 34
Aggregated from EPA Air Quality System (2025), 355 monitored days. EPA AQS →
The verdict
The Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro runs good on the EPA scale, among the cleanest 10% of US metros, a median AQI of 34 with 94.7% of 355 monitored days in the Good band.
- 34
- median AQI · Good
- 94.7%
- days rated Good
- 94%
- cleaner than US metros
- 87
- 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
- Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro's Good-day share fell from 97.0% to 94.6% between the 2024 and 2025 EPA annual releases, a change of -2.3 percentage points.
Insights: Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro. Aggregated EPA AQS monitors across this Core-Based Statistical Area logged a median Air Quality Index of 34 over 355 measured days in 2025, which corresponds to a Good band and a Excellent metro-wide health grade. The monitored-day split lands at 336 Good days (95%), 19 Moderate (5%), and 0 Unhealthy-for-Sensitive-Groups (0%). The 90th-percentile AQI finished at 47 while the highest single-day reading hit 87 (Moderate). Metro residents averaged roughly 28.4 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 -1.2 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 Arkadelphia, AR (96.7% good, AQI 34); Augusta-Waterville, ME (85.2% good, AQI 34); Beatrice, NE (75.8% good, AQI 34).
Air Quality Summary
Median AQI
34
Good
Good Days
94.7%
336 of 355 days
Max AQI
87
Moderate
Health Grade
Excellent
90th pct: 47
AQI Day Breakdown (2025)
Distribution of 355 monitored days across EPA AQI categories.
Good
336
95%
Moderate
19
5%
USG
0
0%
Unhealthy
0
0%
Very Unhealthy
0
0%
Hazardous
0
0%
Health Impact Assessment
The Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area's air quality is rated Excellent based on 94.7% 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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro compare?
How Watertown-Fort Drum, NY compares
5-Year Air Quality Trend
Air quality is stable in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro. Highest Good-day share: 2022 (97.8%, 352 of 360 monitored days).
| Year | Good | Moderate | Unhealthy | Median AQI | Max AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 345 | 15 | 0 | 33 | 90 |
| 2021 | 332 | 19 | 0 | 32 | 97 |
| 2022 | 352 | 8 | 0 | 32 | 84 |
| 2023 | 344 | 17 | 0 | 33 | 101 |
| 2024 | 352 | 11 | 0 | 32 | 80 |
| 2025 | 336 | 19 | 0 | 34 | 87 |
Metros with a similar median AQI
CBSA peers nationwide whose annual median AQI sits near Watertown-Fort Drum, NY (34).
Arkadelphia, AR
Median AQI 34 · 96.7% Good-day share
Augusta-Waterville, ME
Median AQI 34 · 85.2% Good-day share
Beatrice, NE
Median AQI 34 · 75.8% Good-day share
Dyersburg, TN
Median AQI 34 · 76.9% Good-day share
Erie, PA
Median AQI 34 · 76.7% Good-day share
Grand Island, NE
Median AQI 34 · 82.5% Good-day share
Metros with similar unhealthy-day exposure
A second relationship type: metros whose unhealthy-or-worse day count is closest to Watertown-Fort Drum, NY'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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area? ▼
How many unhealthy air days does Watertown-Fort Drum, NY have? ▼
Is air quality in Watertown-Fort Drum, NY getting better or worse? ▼
What does AQI 34 mean for health? ▼
What is the 90th percentile AQI for Watertown-Fort Drum, NY? ▼
How does Watertown-Fort Drum, NY 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.