What Is the Air Quality in Luzerne, Pennsylvania?

Luzerne, Pennsylvania 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 34. Sensitive groups will see occasional caution days, but the typical resident will not need to change behavior based on air quality.

Luzerne, Pennsylvania's 5-year median AQI of 34 is 7 points below the national average of 41 — meaningfully cleaner than the typical U.S. metro tracked here. Within Pennsylvania, Luzerne, Pennsylvania runs cleaner than the state average of 43 — a positive signal that local conditions (terrain, wind patterns, emission sources) are working in residents' favor.

For context within Pennsylvania: Wyoming, Pennsylvania currently holds the state's cleanest grade (A, AQI 33), while Allegheny, Pennsylvania sits at the bottom (C, AQI 56).

Air quality in Luzerne, Pennsylvania has held roughly steady over the past decade, with year-to-year shifts in median AQI of less than half a point. That stability makes the city's long-run grade a reliable signal of what residents can expect day-to-day.

In 2014, Luzerne, Pennsylvania posted a median AQI of 34. By 2022 that figure was 37 — a rise of 3 AQI points dirtier across 9 years of EPA records.

Across the past five years, this area has logged just 0 days where AQI rose into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range or worse — about 0 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 ozone peaks in the afternoon on hot sunny days, plan outdoor exercise for early morning or after sunset on bad-air days.