Bad Air Days in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota: under 1 a Year
under 1 bad air day a year
Fewer bad air days than most monitored US counties. Ranked 706 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.
What makes them bad: mostly ozone: summer smog (0% particle days).
When the bad days come in Mille Lacs
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Most bad days here fall in May and June and April. Averaged over 2016 to 2025.
Is a purifier worth it 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 worst days on file
In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 4 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, under 1. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2023, with 5 bad days on 237 monitored days.
| Date | AQI | Main pollutant |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-20 | 136 | Ozone |
| 2023-06-21 | 115 | Ozone |
| 2023-05-23 | 108 | Ozone |
| 2023-05-22 | 105 | Ozone |
| 2023-04-11 | 101 | Ozone |
The air on a normal day
Across 2,011 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Mille Lacs County rated Good on 96% of them, more often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 4%. The median day sat at AQI 34; one day in ten went above 46.
The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:
- ozone100%2,011 days
Every recent year on file
| Year | Days monitored | Good | Moderate | Over 100 | Over 150 | Median AQI | Highest AQI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025* | 235 | 224 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 97 |
| 2024 | 74 | 73 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 67 |
| 2023 | 237 | 213 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 40 | 136 |
| 2022 | 151 | 151 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 48 |
| 2021 | 245 | 232 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 71 |
| 2020 | 245 | 240 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 87 |
| 2019 | 247 | 239 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 90 |
| 2018 | 126 | 114 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 74 |
| 2017 | 240 | 231 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 93 |
| 2016 | 211 | 204 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 77 |
| 2015 | 223 | 214 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 87 |
| 2014 | 220 | 215 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 77 |
| 2013 | 213 | 205 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 74 |
| 2012 | 221 | 211 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 93 |
| 2011 | 207 | 200 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 101 |
| 2010 | 196 | 189 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 115 |
*2025 may be a partial year in EPA's file.
Nearby counties on file
- Blue Earth County10/yr
- Saint Louis County5/yr
- Wright County5/yr
- Cass County4/yr
- Beltrami County4/yr
- Hennepin County4/yr
- Anoka County4/yr
- Becker County4/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, and on why a purifier does not touch ozone in smoke vs ozone.