Counties in North Carolina by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI)
Henderson County had the highest share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI) of 54 counties in 2003, at 100%. Mecklenburg County had the lowest, at 17%. The median was 53.9%. Source: EPA.
Map of counties, 2003
- Under 32
- 32 to 43
- 43 to 54
- 54 to 62
- 62 to 68
- 68 and over
- No data
All counties, 2003
Full ranking
Other periods
About this ranking
Days with a daily Air Quality Index of 0 to 50 (good) as a percentage of the days of the year with an AQI in a US county. Calculated by Invokely from the day counts in the EPA AirData annual summaries; both counts are stored with each value.
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.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the counties are compared on one definition. 8 counties with data in other periods have no value for 2003 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2026). EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts (Counties in North Carolina by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2003) [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: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts, Counties in North Carolina by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2003. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 13 July 2026, https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/north-carolina-counties?period=2003. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2026. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. Counties in North Carolina by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2003. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/north-carolina-counties?period=2003.
Harvard
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2026) EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts, Counties in North Carolina by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2003 [Dataset]. Available at: https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/north-carolina-counties?period=2003 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{environmental_counties_in_north_carolina_2003,
author = {{U.S. Environmental Protection Agency}},
title = {{EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts: Counties in North Carolina by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2003}},
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/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/north-carolina-counties?period=2003. Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. 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: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts: Counties in North Carolina by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI), 2003
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/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/north-carolina-counties?period=2003
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/good-air-quality-days-share/north-carolina-counties?period=2003.
N1 - Publisher attribution: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System, AirData. EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. https://aqs.epa.gov/aqsweb/airdata/download_files.html#Annual. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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:
Rank Counties in North Carolina by share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI) using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"aqi_good_days_share","level":"province","within":"North Carolina","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=aqi_good_days_share&level=province&within=North%20Carolina&limit=10Questions
Which county has the highest share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI)?
Henderson County, with 100% in 2003, according to EPA.
Which county has the lowest share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI)?
Mecklenburg County, with 17% in 2003.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA AirData annual AQI by county: good days as a share of days with an AQI, calculated with stored counts. Retrieved 2026-10-12. 8 counties have no value for 2003 and are not ranked.
Share of days with good air quality (US EPA AQI): other rankings
Counties in North Carolina: more rankings
- Median Air Quality Index (US EPA)
- Share of days unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse (US EPA AQI)
- National Risk Index score (FEMA)
- Highest daily Air Quality Index (US EPA)
- Real GDP growth
- Gross domestic product (GDP), US dollars
- GDP per capita, US dollars
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