State air quality · 2025
New Mexico Air Quality Ranking
Across 16 monitored counties, the typical county in New Mexico posts a median AQI of 39 (Good) and 69.1% of monitored days were rated Good, from EPA AQS.
- 39
- Avg median AQI
- 69.1%
- Good-air days
- 16
- Counties monitored
- 17%
- Cleaner than US states
New Mexico's typical county median AQI is 39 (Good) across 16 monitored counties
According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, New Mexico monitors 16 counties with a day-weighted Good-day share of 69.1%. Cleanest: Taos County (98.9% Good). Most polluted: Bernalillo County (26.6%). These are annual summaries, not live AirNow readings.
Data source EPA Air Quality System (AQS)
- Cleaner than US states
- New Mexico's day-weighted Good-day share of 69.1% places it cleaner than 17% of US states.
- In-state spread
- Within New Mexico, Los Alamos County leads at 100.0% Good days while Bernalillo County sits at 26.6% across 16 monitored counties.
- 2024→2025 release
- New Mexico's Good-day share moved -0.9 points vs the 2024 EPA annual release.
- Typical median AQI
- Typical median AQI: 39
Verify with AirNow → · EPA AQS →
EPA state monitoring brief
AQS state key NEW-MEXICO
New Mexico · 2025 EPA AQS · 16 counties · med AQI 39 · 69.1% Good · Taos→Bernalillo spread
- GOOD 39 Median AQI · Good
- SHARE 69.1% Good-day share
- COUNT 16 Counties monitored
- UNH 39 Unhealthy+ days
- RANK 17% Cleaner than states
- O3 63.7% Main pollutant share
New Mexico's 69.1% Good-day share is cleaner than 17% of monitored US states; Taos and Bernalillo County bracket the in-state range. Open Los Alamos County →
According to EPA AQS annual summaries on PlainAirData, New Mexico ranks #43 of 52 by day-weighted good-day share (69.1%) and #23 by mean county median AQI (38.5). Hawaii is #1 of 52 by day-weighted good-day share (93.8% of monitored days) at mean county median-AQI #4 (27.3) ≠ Alaska #1 lowest mean county median AQI (20.3) at good-day share #8 (84.4%).
Data updated August 2026
What changed, what drives it, and how thick is the sample
Three derived views WPR-style word count does not substitute for: release-over-release movement from county annual rows, the EPA main-pollutant day mix, and how many counties sit below the 100-day ranking floor.
Release change
69.1%
Good-day share in 2025, down 0.9 percentage points vs 2024. County-mean median AQI 39, 1.9 points higher (worse) than 2024.
Pollutant mix
Ozone
Main driver on 63.7% of pollutant-assigned days.
- Ozone 63.7%
- PM2.5 23.6%
- PM10 11.7%
- NO2 0.9%
Monitoring coverage
290
Average monitored days per county in the latest release. 3 of 16 counties sit below the 100-day floor used for cleanest/most-polluted claims.
Counties Monitored
16
Good Days %
69.1%
Avg Median AQI
39
Total Unhealthy Days
39
Best Air Quality
Taos County
Worst Air Quality
Bernalillo County
Where New Mexico sits nationally
COUNT-derived placement among 52 US states with at least 365 monitored days in the latest county release. New Mexico's day-weighted Good-day share is 69.1% - cleaner than 17% of that comparison set.
New Mexico Good-day share vs. every US state
Day-weighted share of monitored days in the Good band (AQI 0–50) - EPA AQS annual release
69.1% 17th percentile higher than 17% of 52 US states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System (AQS) · 2025
Which counties in New Mexico have the cleanest and most polluted air?
Cleanest counties in New Mexico
| County | Good % | Median AQI | Max AQI | Unhealthy Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Alamos | 100.0% | 13 | 42 | 0 |
| Taos | 98.9% | 16 | 52 | 0 |
| Socorro | 98.0% | 17 | 85 | 0 |
| Chaves | 91.9% | 29 | 117 | 0 |
| Rio Arriba | 85.2% | 44 | 87 | 0 |
| Luna | 84.7% | 17 | 321 | 9 |
| Santa Fe | 78.4% | 44 | 93 | 0 |
| Valencia | 75.3% | 44 | 97 | 0 |
| Sandoval | 73.5% | 44 | 93 | 0 |
| Catron | 71.7% | 45 | 100 | 0 |
| Lea | 68.8% | 44 | 193 | 5 |
| Lincoln | 68.3% | 44 | 108 | 0 |
| San Juan | 68.0% | 47 | 97 | 0 |
| Eddy | 53.7% | 49 | 168 | 1 |
| Dona Ana | 27.4% | 61 | 528 | 21 |
| Bernalillo | 26.6% | 58 | 204 | 3 |
Data Sources
Primary Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Air Quality System (AQS), Annual AQI by County dataset, 2020–2025. See our methodology for how AQI and median figures are computed.
Coverage: 16 counties in New Mexico with active monitoring stations. Unmonitored counties are not represented.
Source: U.S. EPA Air Quality System (AQS) Annual AQI by county summary files, aggregated to the state level · 2020–2025
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.
Informational only, not professional advice. Data from EPA AQS. See our disclaimer.