What Is the Air Quality in Wake, North Carolina?

Wake, North Carolina 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 48. Sensitive groups will see occasional caution days, but the typical resident will not need to change behavior based on air quality.

Wake, North Carolina's 5-year median AQI of 48 is 7 points above the national average of 41 — meaningfully more polluted than the typical U.S. metro tracked here. Within North Carolina, Wake, North Carolina runs more polluted than the state average of 41 — local sources or geography are concentrating pollution above the state's typical reading.

For context within North Carolina: Jackson, North Carolina currently holds the state's cleanest grade (A, AQI 35), while Durham, North Carolina sits at the bottom (C, AQI 49).

Air quality in Wake, North Carolina has been improving over the past decade, with median AQI dropping by roughly 0.8 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, Wake, North Carolina posted a median AQI of 54. By 2023 that figure was 49 — a drop of 5 AQI points cleaner across 10 years of EPA records.

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.

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.