What Is the Air Quality in Scioto, Ohio?
Scioto, Ohio has an Air Quality Grade of C (fair) with a 5-year median AQI of 21. The dominant pollutant is Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10), and air quality has been worsening over the past decade.
Scioto, Ohio Air Quality Snapshot
| Air Quality Grade | C64/100 |
| 5-Year Median AQI | 21 (Good) |
| Most Recent Median AQI (2023) | 44 (Good) |
| Dominant Pollutant | Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) |
| 10-Year Trend | Worsening (+1.46 AQI/yr) |
| Unhealthy Days (last 5 yr) | 7 |
| National Rank (cleanest = #1) | #64 of 1,020 (6th cleanest percentile) |
| Ohio Rank | #4 of 40 |
What Does the C Grade Mean?
Scioto, Ohio earns a C — air quality is fair, but not great. With a 5-year median AQI of 21, the city sees a meaningful number of "Moderate" days each year, when the EPA flags air as a concern for unusually sensitive people.
Scioto, Ohio's 5-year median AQI of 21 is 20 points below the national average of 41 — meaningfully cleaner than the typical U.S. metro tracked here. Within Ohio, Scioto, Ohio runs cleaner than the state average of 40 — a positive signal that local conditions (terrain, wind patterns, emission sources) are working in residents' favor.
For context within Ohio: Columbiana, Ohio currently holds the state's cleanest grade (A, AQI 12), while Butler, Ohio sits at the bottom (D, AQI 50).
What's in Scioto, Ohio's Air?
The dominant pollutant in Scioto, Ohio 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) | 321 | 88% |
| Coarse Particulate Matter (PM10) | 44 | 12% |
Is the Air Getting Better or Worse?
Air quality in Scioto, Ohio has been getting worse over the past decade, with median AQI climbing by roughly 1.5 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, Scioto, Ohio posted a median AQI of 19. By 2023 that figure was 44 — a rise of 25 AQI points dirtier across 10 years of EPA records.
Year-by-Year AQI in Scioto, Ohio
| Year | Median AQI | Good Days | Unhealthy Days | Dominant Pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 19 | 315 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2015 | 16 | 319 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2016 | 15 | 321 | 1 | PM10 |
| 2017 | 13 | 344 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2018 | 13 | 338 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2019 | 14 | 337 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2020 | 14 | 347 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2021 | 16 | 333 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2022 | 17 | 340 | 0 | PM10 |
| 2023 | 44 | 223 | 7 | PM2.5 |
Health Context for Scioto, Ohio
Across the past five years, this area has logged just 7 days where AQI rose into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range or worse — about 1 days per year, or roughly one every other month. That is a low count by national standards.
Healthy adults can continue normal outdoor activity in most weather, but should pay attention to AQI alerts during the worst pollution windows. People with asthma, heart disease, or pregnancy should reduce prolonged or intense outdoor exertion on flagged days, and consider running an indoor HEPA air cleaner during peak 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.
Scioto, Ohio has an Air Quality Grade of C (fair) with a 5-year median AQI of 21. 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.
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.