What Is the Air Quality in Nye, Nevada?
Nye, Nevada has an Air Quality Grade of B (good) with a 5-year median AQI of 20. The dominant pollutant is Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10), and air quality has been worsening over the past decade.
Nye, Nevada Air Quality Snapshot
| Air Quality Grade | B71/100 |
| 5-Year Median AQI | 20 (Good) |
| Most Recent Median AQI (2023) | 19 (Good) |
| Dominant Pollutant | Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) |
| 10-Year Trend | Worsening (+0.46 AQI/yr) |
| Unhealthy Days (last 5 yr) | 22 |
| National Rank (cleanest = #1) | #58 of 1,020 (6th cleanest percentile) |
| Nevada Rank | #1 of 9 |
What Does the B Grade Mean?
Nye, Nevada 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 20. Sensitive groups will see occasional caution days, but the typical resident will not need to change behavior based on air quality.
Nye, Nevada's 5-year median AQI of 20 is 21 points below the national average of 41 — meaningfully cleaner than the typical U.S. metro tracked here. Within Nevada, Nye, Nevada runs cleaner than the state average of 39 — a positive signal that local conditions (terrain, wind patterns, emission sources) are working in residents' favor.
For context within Nevada: Douglas, Nevada currently holds the state's cleanest grade (A, AQI 22), while Clark, Nevada sits at the bottom (D, AQI 62).
What's in Nye, Nevada's Air?
The dominant pollutant in Nye, Nevada is Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10). Coarse particulate matter — particles up to 10 micrometers across — typically comes from dust, construction sites, agriculture, unpaved roads, and natural sources like windblown soil. PM10 is less hazardous than PM2.5 because the larger particles do not penetrate as deeply into the lungs, but high levels still aggravate asthma and irritate airways.
Days by Dominant Pollutant (2023)
| Pollutant | Days as Dominant | Share of Year |
|---|---|---|
| Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) | 365 | 100% |
Is the Air Getting Better or Worse?
Air quality in Nye, Nevada has been getting worse over the past decade, with median AQI climbing by roughly 0.5 points per year. That bucks the national trend of broad improvement, and most often reflects either growing wildfire smoke exposure (particularly across the West) or rising local emissions from population and freight growth.
In 2014, Nye, Nevada posted a median AQI of 20. By 2023 that figure was 19 — a drop of 1 AQI points cleaner across 10 years of EPA records.
Year-by-Year AQI in Nye, Nevada
| Year | Median AQI | Good Days | Unhealthy Days | Dominant Pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 20 | 339 | 2 | PM10 |
| 2015 | 16 | 357 | 1 | PM10 |
| 2016 | 15 | 349 | 2 | PM10 |
| 2017 | 19 | 346 | 4 | PM10 |
| 2018 | 18 | 350 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2019 | 15 | 352 | 1 | PM10 |
| 2020 | 21 | 343 | 3 | PM10 |
| 2021 | 23 | 336 | 1 | PM10 |
| 2022 | 22 | 306 | 11 | PM10 |
| 2023 | 19 | 339 | 6 | PM10 |
Health Context for Nye, Nevada
Across the past five years, this area has logged just 22 days where AQI rose into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range or worse — about 4 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. PM10 is largely a near-source pollutant — staying upwind of busy roads, construction, and unpaved areas can substantially reduce exposure.
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.
Nye, Nevada has an Air Quality Grade of B (good) with a 5-year median AQI of 20. The dominant pollutant is Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10), and air quality has been worsening 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.
For readers turning this answer into action: cross-reference against the underlying the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) record before acting on time-sensitive decisions. The site renders the data as it was published; subsequent revisions can shift the picture, and the live federal data is always the authoritative current reference.
Source: EPA Outdoor Air Quality Data, 2026.