Bad Air Days in Leon County, Florida: under 1 a Year
under 1 bad air day a year
Fewer bad air days than most monitored US counties. Ranked 752 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.
What makes them bad: mostly particles: smoke and dust (86% particle days).
The bad-air season here
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Most bad days here fall in June and April and March and October. Averaged over 2016 to 2025.
What actually helps here
- Bad air days are rare here. A standard furnace filter is enough; no purifier needed for outdoor air.
- On the odd bad day, check AirNow and keep windows shut.
The record for Leon
In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 11 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, under 1. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2020, with 3 bad days on 366 monitored days.
| Date | AQI | Main pollutant |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-06-26 | 163 | PM2.5 |
| 2020-06-27 | 147 | PM2.5 |
| 2025-03-27 | 140 | PM2.5 |
| 2024-04-24 | 129 | PM2.5 |
| 2023-10-03 | 124 | PM2.5 |
An ordinary day in Leon
Across 3,609 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Leon County rated Good on 57% of them, less often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 43%. The median day sat at AQI 47; one day in ten went above 61.
The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:
- fine particles (PM2.5)83%2,996 days
- ozone17%613 days
Every recent year on file
| Year | Days monitored | Good | Moderate | Over 100 | Over 150 | Median AQI | Highest AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025* | 365 | 206 | 158 | 1 | 0 | 48 | 140 |
| 2024 | 355 | 243 | 111 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 129 |
| 2023 | 361 | 204 | 156 | 1 | 0 | 47 | 124 |
| 2022 | 364 | 211 | 153 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 93 |
| 2021 | 365 | 194 | 171 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 80 |
| 2020 | 366 | 185 | 178 | 3 | 1 | 49 | 163 |
| 2019 | 360 | 215 | 144 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 119 |
| 2018 | 355 | 217 | 138 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 97 |
| 2017 | 357 | 186 | 171 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 89 |
| 2016 | 361 | 204 | 157 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 85 |
| 2015 | 363 | 173 | 190 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 97 |
| 2014 | 365 | 158 | 206 | 1 | 1 | 52 | 159 |
| 2013 | 365 | 239 | 123 | 3 | 1 | 43 | 246 |
| 2012 | 366 | 190 | 172 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 147 |
| 2011 | 365 | 142 | 216 | 7 | 1 | 54 | 159 |
| 2010 | 365 | 113 | 251 | 1 | 1 | 54 | 160 |
*2025 may be a partial year in EPA's file.
Florida compared
- Hillsborough County3/yr
- Miami-Dade County3/yr
- Duval County2/yr
- Broward County1/yr
- Osceola County1/yr
- Orange Countyunder 1/yr
- Polk Countyunder 1/yr
- Pinellas Countyunder 1/yr
How this is counted
A bad air day is a day the county's daily AQI from EPA AirData went above 100, the level where EPA tells children, older adults and people with asthma or heart disease to cut back outdoors. Monitors do not run every day, so yearly counts are scaled to 365 days. This is the record, not today's air: for that, check AirNow. More on the method in how the county numbers are made, on the AQI 100 line in what counts as a bad air day.