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AirHistory

What Is the Air Quality in Erie, New York?

Erie, New York has an Air Quality Grade of B (good) with a 5-year median AQI of 44. The dominant pollutant is Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5), and air quality has been improving over the past decade.

Erie, New York Air Quality Snapshot

Air Quality GradeB67/100
5-Year Median AQI44 (Good)
Most Recent Median AQI (2023)48 (Good)
Dominant PollutantFine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
10-Year TrendImproving (-0.73 AQI/yr)
Unhealthy Days (last 5 yr)13
National Rank (cleanest = #1)#731 of 1,020 (72th most polluted percentile)
New York Rank#27 of 29

What Does the B Grade Mean?

Erie, New York earns a B — air quality is reliably in the safe range for most residents most of the time, with a 5-year median AQI of 44. Sensitive groups will see occasional caution days, but the typical resident will not need to change behavior based on air quality.

Erie, New York's 5-year median AQI of 44 is 3 points above the national average of 41 — meaningfully more polluted than the typical U.S. metro tracked here. Within New York, Erie, New York runs more polluted than the state average of 37 — local sources or geography are concentrating pollution above the state's typical reading.

For context within New York: Oneida, New York currently holds the state's cleanest grade (B, AQI 25), while Queens, New York sits at the bottom (C, AQI 46).

What's in Erie, New York's Air?

The dominant pollutant in Erie, New York is Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5). Fine particulate matter — particles less than 2.5 micrometers across — comes mostly from combustion: vehicle exhaust, wildfire smoke, residential wood burning, and industrial emissions. Because these particles are small enough to enter the bloodstream, PM2.5 is the pollutant most strongly linked to cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, and premature death.

Days by Dominant Pollutant (2023)

PollutantDays as DominantShare of Year
Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)27575%
Ground-Level Ozone8624%
Nitrogen Dioxide41%

Is the Air Getting Better or Worse?

Air quality in Erie, New York has been improving over the past decade, with median AQI dropping by roughly 0.7 points per year. That is consistent with the broader national pattern — most U.S. metros have seen steady reductions in particulate and ozone pollution since the 2010s as cleaner vehicles and power plants come online.

In 2014, Erie, New York posted a median AQI of 52. By 2023 that figure was 48 — a drop of 4 AQI points cleaner across 10 years of EPA records.

Year-by-Year AQI in Erie, New York

YearMedian AQIGood DaysUnhealthy DaysDominant Pollutant
2014521581PM2.5
2015521564PM2.5
2016472106PM2.5
2017482051PM2.5
2018452202PM2.5
2019432620PM2.5
2020412782PM2.5
2021462251PM2.5
2022442382PM2.5
2023481988PM2.5

Health Context for Erie, New York

Across the past five years, this area has logged just 13 days where AQI rose into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range or worse — about 3 days per year, or roughly one every other month. That is a low count by national standards.

For most healthy adults, current air quality in this area does not require any change in behavior. People with severe asthma, COPD, or recent cardiac events should still keep an eye on daily AQI alerts, especially during wildfire season. Because PM2.5 penetrates deep into the lungs and bloodstream, an N95 or KN95 mask provides meaningful protection on smoky or high-particulate days — surgical masks do not.

How This Grade Is Calculated

The AirHistory Air Quality Grade combines four signals: the 5-year median AQI (40% of the score), the 10-year trend direction (30%), the count of unhealthy days per year (20%), and the dominant pollutant type (10%). All four come directly from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), which aggregates readings from federally certified monitors. Read the full methodology.

View full Erie, New York profile →All New York cities →Air quality checker →Methodology →

Erie, New York has an Air Quality Grade of B (good) with a 5-year median AQI of 44. The dominant pollutant is Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5), and air quality has been improving over the past decade.

This answer pulls from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS), the authoritative federal source for U.S. air quality and pollution monitoring. The headline number above is the direct answer; what follows is the additional context most readers need to use the answer for a real decision rather than just a fact lookup.

A practical caveat: the headline answer above reflects the most recent the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) vintage; underlying data is often revised for months after first publication, and the right reference for any specific decision is whichever vintage is current at the time of the decision. The as-of date is stamped on every page.

Source: EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data, 2026.