State air quality · 2025

Puerto Rico Air Quality Ranking

Across 8 monitored counties, the typical county in Puerto Rico posts a median AQI of 22 (Good) and 84.0% of monitored days were rated Good, from EPA AQS.

22
Avg median AQI
84.0%
Good-air days
8
Counties monitored
83%
Cleaner than US states

Puerto Rico's typical county median AQI is 22 (Good) across 8 monitored counties

According to the U.S. EPA Air Quality System, Puerto Rico monitors 8 counties with a day-weighted Good-day share of 84.0%. Cleanest: Mayagnez County (97.8% Good). Most polluted: Catano County (60.6%). These are annual summaries, not live AirNow readings.

Data source EPA Air Quality System (AQS)

Cleaner than US states
Puerto Rico's day-weighted Good-day share of 84.0% places it cleaner than 83% of US states.
In-state spread
Within Puerto Rico, Guayama County leads at 98.0% Good days while Catano County sits at 60.6% across 8 monitored counties.
2024→2025 release
Puerto Rico's Good-day share moved -1.0 points vs the 2024 EPA annual release.
Typical median AQI
Typical median AQI: 22

Verify with AirNow → · EPA AQS →

The verdict

According to EPA Air Quality System monitoring data, across 8 monitored counties, Puerto Rico averages a good median AQI of 22, cleaner than most US states, with 84.0% of its monitored days in the Good band, but the gap between Mayagnez and Catano County is the real story.

22
avg median AQI · Good
84.0%
of monitored days in the Good band
7/8
counties ≥75% Good days
83%
cleaner than other states

Cleanest: Mayagnez County (97.8% Good days). Most polluted: Catano County (60.6%).

Data updated August 2026

Puerto Rico: 8 monitored counties (2025), avg median AQI 22 (Good), 84.0% good-air days, 2 total unhealthy days (0.1%). Best: Mayagnez County (97.8%). Worst: Catano County (60.6%). Worst single reading: AQI 350. EPA AQS methodology + AQI interpretation →

A statewide average smooths over real differences between counties, so it should be read as a starting point rather than a verdict on any one place. Within almost every state, a handful of urban or wildfire-prone counties carry most of the unhealthy days while rural counties sit near the clean end of the scale, and the gap between the best and worst county is often wider than the gap between two neighboring states. Coverage matters too: the Environmental Protection Agency places monitors where population density, emission sources, or attainment status warrant them, so a state with few monitored counties is described by a thinner sample than one blanketed with stations. The figures here count only the days each monitor actually reported, which keeps lightly monitored and heavily monitored counties on comparable footing but cannot speak for the roughly two thousand U.S. counties that have no monitor at all. For a fuller picture, open the individual county profiles below and compare the primary pollutant, the share of Good days, and the five-year trend for the places that matter to you.

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

84.0%

Good-day share in 2025, down 1.0 percentage points vs 2024. County-mean median AQI 22, within half a point of the 2024 county-mean median.

Pollutant mix

PM2.5

Main driver on 62.0% of pollutant-assigned days.

  • PM2.5 62.0%
  • CO 17.8%
  • Ozone 15.0%
  • PM10 5.2%

Monitoring coverage

189

Average monitored days per county in the latest release. 1 of 8 counties sit below the 100-day floor used for cleanest/most-polluted claims.

Counties Monitored

8

Good Days %

84.0%

Avg Median AQI

22

Total Unhealthy Days

2

Best Air Quality

Mayagnez County

Worst Air Quality

Catano County

Which counties in Puerto Rico have the cleanest and most polluted air?

Cleanest counties in Puerto Rico

Share of monitored days rated Good (AQI 0–50)

  1. 1 Guayama County 98%
  2. 2 Mayagnez County 97.8%
  3. 3 Caguas County 93%
  4. 4 Ponce County 91.4%
  5. 5 Bayamon County 86%
  6. 6 Fajardo County 85.2%
  7. 7 Guaynabo County 81.6%
  8. 8 Catano County 60.6%

Good-day share · EPA Air Quality System

County Good % Median AQI
Guayama 98.0% 19
Mayagnez 97.8% 9
Caguas 93.0% 5
Ponce 91.4% 3
Bayamon 86.0% 29
Fajardo 85.2% 29
Guaynabo 81.6% 33
Catano 60.6% 45

Reading Puerto Rico's air quality

A statewide average is a starting point, not a verdict, what matters is the county you actually breathe in.

  • Open your county's profile for its primary pollutant, Good-day share, and where it sits among 8 monitored counties. County profiles
  • Mayagnez County (97.8% Good days) and Catano County (60.6%) bracket the range, compare both before drawing a conclusion. See the cleanest
  • New to the scale? The AQI guide explains what a median of 22 means for sensitive groups. Understand AQI

Figures count only days each EPA monitor reported; roughly two thousand U.S. counties have no monitor and are not represented. Data: EPA AQS annual summaries, 2020–2025.

Explore Puerto Rico air quality

Dig into the cleanest and most-polluted counties, metro areas, and national rankings.

Air Quality Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the air quality in Puerto Rico?
Puerto Rico has 8 counties with EPA air quality monitoring. The median AQI in the typical monitored county is 22, and 84.0% of the state's monitored days were rated Good.
Which county in Puerto Rico has the best air quality?
Mayagnez County has the best air quality in Puerto Rico based on EPA AQS data. Counties are ranked by the percentage of monitored days with "Good" AQI (0-50).
Which county in Puerto Rico has the worst air quality?
Catano County has the worst air quality in Puerto Rico. The state recorded 2 total unhealthy air days across all 8 monitored counties.
How many counties in Puerto Rico have air quality monitors?
8 counties in Puerto Rico have active EPA Air Quality System (AQS) monitoring stations. Only counties with monitors are included in AQI data. Unmonitored counties are not represented.
How many unhealthy air days does Puerto Rico have?
Puerto Rico recorded 2 Unhealthy-or-worse air days across all 8 monitored counties. These include days rated Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, or Hazardous on the EPA AQI scale; Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups days are not included in this count.
What pollutant drives Puerto Rico's AQI most often?
Across Puerto Rico's monitored counties in the latest EPA annual release, PM2.5 was the main driver on 62.0% of pollutant-assigned days (940 of 1,515). That is a day-count share of the EPA main-pollutant assignment, not a concentration ranking.
Did Puerto Rico's air quality improve in 2025?
Day-weighted Good-day share is 84.0%, down 1.0 percentage points vs 2024. County-mean median AQI is 22, within half a point of the 2024 county-mean median. These are annual EPA summaries, not today's AirNow reading.

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: 8 counties in Puerto Rico 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

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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.

Informational only, not professional advice. Data from EPA AQS. See our disclaimer.