Bad Air Days in Steuben County, New York: 1 a Year

1 bad air day a year

Fewer bad air days than most monitored US counties. Ranked 604 of 996 monitored counties, where 1 is worst.

What makes them bad: mostly particles: smoke and dust (79% particle days).

The bad-air season here

Most bad days here fall in June and May and August and July. Averaged over 2016 to 2025.

What to buy, and what not to

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.

Better or worse than it was

In 2000 to 2009 this county averaged 5 bad days a year; in 2016 to 2025, 1. The air has improved. The worst recent year was 2023, with 8 bad days on 365 monitored days.

Date	AQI	Main pollutant
2023-06-07	256	PM2.5
2023-06-29	189	PM2.5
2023-06-06	183	PM2.5
2023-06-30	160	PM2.5
2023-06-28	156	PM2.5

The air on a normal day

Across 3,646 monitored days from 2016 to 2025, the air in Steuben County rated Good on 86% of them, more often than the 72% typical of monitored counties, and Moderate on 14%. The median day sat at AQI 37; one day in ten went above 54.

The pollutant setting the AQI on an ordinary day here:

ozone67%2,438 days
fine particles (PM2.5)33%1,197 days

Every recent year on file

Year	Days monitored	Good	Moderate	Over 100	Over 150	Median AQI	Highest AQI
2025*	365	304	58	3	0	38	143
2024	365	321	44	0	0	37	68
2023	365	274	83	8	5	40	256
2022	365	326	39	0	0	38	71
2021	365	285	79	1	0	38	124
2020	365	330	35	0	0	36	81
2019	365	315	50	0	0	37	69
2018	363	313	50	0	0	34	87
2017	365	339	26	0	0	35	92
2016	363	321	40	2	0	37	122
2015	358	290	68	0	0	36	80
2014	365	318	47	0	0	35	77
2013	365	332	33	0	0	33	84
2012	366	318	48	0	0	35	100
2011	360	297	61	2	1	41	160
2010	365	260	105	0	0	38	100

*2025 may be a partial year in EPA's file.

Nearby counties on file

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.