Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Santa Barbara County

Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Santa Barbara County was 87 in 2025, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That is down 59 from 2024.

2025, index87

Change on 2024-59

Series high3132016

Series low872025

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 Santa Barbara 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	87
2024	146
2023	95
2022	93
2021	101
2020	174
2019	105
2018	114
2017	313
2016	313
2015	101
2014	159
2013	122
2012	136
2011	161
2010	143
2009	172
2008	151
2007	183
2006	165
2005	140
2004	192
2003	192
2002	161
2001	201
2000	154
1999	205
1998	216
1997	203
1996	218
1995	214
1994	212
1993	205
1992	221
1991	208
1990	238
1989	275
1988	192
1987	239
1986	224
1985	237
1984	214
1983	214
1982	227
1981	235
1980	213

Santa Barbara 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. Santa Barbara 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), Santa Barbara 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), Santa Barbara 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/santa-barbara-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), Santa Barbara 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/santa-barbara-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), Santa Barbara 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/santa-barbara-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), Santa Barbara 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/santa-barbara-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), Santa Barbara 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/santa-barbara-county-california
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/highest-daily-air-quality-index/santa-barbara-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/santa-barbara-county-california" width="760" height="440" title="Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA), Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara County? Cite the source.

get_value {"indicator":"aqi_max","place":"us-county-06083"}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/value?indicator=aqi_max&place=us-county-06083

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 Santa Barbara County?

Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA) in Santa Barbara County was 87 in 2025, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. That is down 59 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 Santa Barbara County?

313 in 2016, the highest value since 1980 in this series.

Related statistics for Santa Barbara County

All statistics for Santa Barbara County | Santa Barbara County in figures