Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Kern County

Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Kern County was 200 in 2025, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That is up 23 from 2024.

2025, index200

Change on 2024+23

Series high5532019

Series low1692016

Next release: Tuesday, 13 July 2027, estimated by Invokely from past publication dates (low confidence), not announced by the publisher. Release calendar

Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Kern County, 1980 to 2025

index. Source: EPA, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-07-13.

All 46 values

Period	index
2025	200
2024	177
2023	174
2022	289
2021	314
2020	267
2019	553
2018	190
2017	197
2016	169
2015	201
2014	307
2013	242
2012	202
2011	200
2010	202
2009	299
2008	217
2007	229
2006	217
2005	208
2004	222
2003	223
2002	216
2001	230
2000	213
1999	210
1998	233
1997	214
1996	234
1995	230
1994	225
1993	221
1992	210
1991	422
1990	342
1989	233
1988	223
1987	227
1986	222
1985	217
1984	217
1983	208
1982	229
1981	245
1980	230

Kern County compared with nearby places

Under 79
79 to 96
96 to 110
110 to 140
140 to 160
160 and over
No data

Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), 2025, index. Kern County is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

Rankings

Counties in California by highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) 58 places

Definition

Highest daily Air Quality Index (AQI) value recorded in a US county during the year, from the EPA AirData annual summaries. Values above 500 are beyond the AQI scale and are published as EPA computes them.

A single day decides the value, so one wildfire or dust event can set it. Dust from the dry Owens Lake bed puts Inyo and Mono counties in California in the thousands. United States counties with air quality monitors only, about 1,000 of some 3,100 in recent years; a county without monitors has no value. The number of days with an AQI differs between counties because some monitors run only in the ozone season.

Report a problem with this figure

How to cite

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2026). EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI (Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), Kern County, 1980 to 2025) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual

MLA 9

EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), Kern County, 1980 to 2025. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 July 2026, https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/highest-daily-air-quality-index/kern-county-california. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), Kern County, 1980 to 2025. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/highest-daily-air-quality-index/kern-county-california.

Harvard

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI, Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), Kern County, 1980 to 2025 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/highest-daily-air-quality-index/kern-county-california (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX

@misc{environmental_highest_daily_air_quality_2025,
  author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
  title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), Kern County, 1980 to 2025}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/highest-daily-air-quality-index/kern-county-california. Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download\_files.html\#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}

RIS

TY  - DATA
AU  - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
TI  - EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI: Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), Kern County, 1980 to 2025
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/13
PB  - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/highest-daily-air-quality-index/kern-county-california
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/highest-daily-air-quality-index/kern-county-california.
N1  - Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -

Embed this chart

Paste this code into a web page or a blog post. The chart shows the latest figures as they are published, with the source and a link back to this page.

Embed code

<iframe src="https://invokely.ai/embed/highest-daily-air-quality-index/kern-county-california" width="760" height="440" title="Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), Kern County, chart from Invokely" loading="lazy" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin"></iframe>

Sites that read oEmbed links, such as WordPress, can show the chart when you paste the link to this page.

Use this data in your AI agent

Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:

What is the latest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Kern County? Cite the source.

get_value {"indicator":"aqi_max","place":"us-county-06029"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/value?indicator=aqi_max&place=us-county-06029

Connect Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor in one step. The trial answers 25 calls a day without an account.

Questions

What is the highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Kern County?

Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Kern County was 200 in 2025, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That is up 23 from 2024.

Where does this figure come from?

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: highest daily AQI. Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Kern County?

553 in 2019, the highest value since 1980 in this series.

Related statistics for Kern County

All statistics for Kern County | Kern County in figures