Keep one room clean on smoky days
Shut the windows and run an air purifier sized for the room.
Choosing a purifier →Air quality in Black Hawk County, IA
Includes Waterloo and Cedar Falls · EPA monitor readings, 2021 to 2025 (fine particles only) · 131,000 people
For today's air and tomorrow's forecast, check AirNow by ZIP code.
Bad-air days a year
2
days with an AQI over 100
9 bad-air days in 5 years of readings, 2021 to 2025. Black Hawk County is tied with 1 other Iowa county for the 2nd fewest bad-air days of the 12 with monitors.
<1day unhealthy for everyoneAQI over 150, a year
48AQI on a typical dayGood: fine for everyone
May to Julworst monthsFine particles, the only pollutant measured
187worst day since 2016Jun 28, 2023, fine particles
How to read the AQIThe EPA's air score runs from 0 to 500. Higher is worse. Over 100 counts as a bad-air day.
Typical day 48 (Good)Worst day 187 (Unhealthy)
Good0 to 50Moderate51 to 100Sensitive groups101 to 150Unhealthy151 to 200Very unhealthy201 to 300Hazardous301 to 500
When bad air happens in Black Hawk County
Average bad-air days in each month, from 10 years of daily readings since 2016. Most fall in May, June and July. Only fine particles are measured here.
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0.1
Jun0.5
Jul0.3
Aug0.1
Sep0
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0
Fine particles (smoke, soot)Ozone (smog)Bars stack in that order, from the bottom.
See the numbers by month
| Month | Ozone | Fine particles | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| February | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| June | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| July | 0 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| August | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| September | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The worst day since 2016 was June 28, 2023: AQI 187, from fine particles.
What causes it
Fine particles are the only pollutant measured here. Most of the bad days here came in one stretch: 5 fine-particle days in June 2023. Monitors here don't measure ozone, so smog days aren't in these counts.
CDC's model estimates about 0.4 days a year with high ozone at the county's worst spot, 2018 to 2022. See the estimates on the map
CDC estimates by month, 2001 to 2022
The CDC's model counts bad-air days at the county's worst spot, from monitors and satellites. Particles (brown) fill the inside of the ring and ozone (blue) the outside.
See the numbers by month
| Month | Fine particles | Ozone |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0.1 | 0 |
| February | 0.2 | 0 |
| March | 0.2 | 0 |
| April | 0 | 0 |
| May | 0 | 0.1 |
| June | 0 | 0.5 |
| July | 0 | 0 |
| August | 0 | 0 |
| September | 0.1 | 0 |
| October | 0 | 0 |
| November | 0 | 0 |
| December | 0.2 | 0 |
What helps in Black Hawk County
Monitors here track fine particles such as smoke, so filtering the air at home helps most. Check the forecast for ozone, which isn't measured here.
Upgrade the furnace filter
Use MERV 13 if your system can take it, and run the fan on smoky days.
Furnace filters →Check tomorrow's forecast
AirNow posts an air quality forecast by ZIP code, usually the day before.
AirNow →For today's reading and tomorrow's forecast, check AirNow by ZIP code. Its fire and smoke map adds smoke plumes.
Purifiers with a verified smoke rating
For a clean room on smoky days. Each has a smoke CADR tested by AHAM's independent program and is certified by California as a mechanical cleaner, so it makes no ozone.
Levoit Vital 100S-P
143 smoke CADR
- Everyday
- up to 222 sq ft
- Heavy smoke
- up to 143 sq ft
- Filters
- about $40 a year
The cheapest unit we found with a verified smoke rating. Enough for a bedroom clean room.
$119.99 at LevoitLevoit Vital 200S-P
250 smoke CADR
- Everyday
- up to 388 sq ft
- Heavy smoke
- up to 250 sq ft
- Filters
- about $50 a year
The most verified smoke cleaning per dollar of any qualifying model: 75% more than the 100S-P for $50 more.
$169.99 at LevoitLevoit Core 600S-P
391 smoke CADR
- Everyday
- up to 606 sq ft
- Heavy smoke
- up to 391 sq ft
- Filters
- $60 to $120 a year
For a big room or a small apartment. Buy the LAP-C601S-WUS version, which CARB lists as mechanical.
$299.99 at LevoitWhy all 3 are Levoit: of the models we checked that pass both tests, these give the most verified smoke cleaning per dollar at each room size. Medify's MA-25 and MA-40 also pass but cost more for the same cleaning.
Ratings from the AHAM Verifide directory and CARB's certified list. Prices from Levoit's site, checked November 7, 2026; they change. We don't earn anything from these links. How to pick a purifier
Every year since 2009
Bad-air days each year. The striped part is days unhealthy for everyone, over AQI 150. The worst recent year was 2023, with 7 bad-air days.
Unhealthy for sensitive groups (101 to 150)Unhealthy or worse (over 150)
See the numbers by year
| Year | Bad-air days | Over 150 |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 3 | 0 |
| 2010 | 7 | 0 |
| 2011 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 |
| 2013 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014 | 1 | 0 |
| 2015 | 2 | 0 |
| 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 7 | 3 |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2 | 1 |
Black Hawk County and its neighbors
Bad-air days a year, 2021 to 2025. Iowa counties with monitors averaged about 4 bad-air days a year, weighted by population.
Bremer County2
Black Hawk County2
Nearest counties with a full report: Linn County, IA (5 bad-air days a year), Johnson County, IA (3 bad-air days a year), Polk County, IA (4 bad-air days a year).
Questions people ask about air in Black Hawk County
How often is the air bad in Black Hawk County?
From 2021 to 2025, monitors in Black Hawk County recorded about 2 bad-air days a year with an AQI above 100, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. The worst year in that stretch was 2023, with 7 bad-air days.
What causes bad air in Black Hawk County?
Most of the bad days here came in one stretch: 5 fine-particle days in June 2023. Bad days cluster in May, June and July. Monitors here don't measure ozone, so smog days aren't in these counts.
Where can I see today's air quality in Black Hawk County?
AirNow, run by the EPA and its partners, shows the current AQI and tomorrow's forecast for your ZIP code. Its fire and smoke map adds smoke plumes. On a typical day the AQI in Black Hawk County is about 48, which is good, fine for everyone. Check it most in May, June and July, when bad days here cluster.
About these numbers
Day counts come from the EPA's county air quality summaries, which take the worst reading across a county's monitors each day. Monitors here reported on about 363 days a year from 2021 to 2025. A county is large, and your street can be cleaner or worse. CDC's model, which estimates every county from monitors and satellites, gives the worst spot in Black Hawk County almost no high-particle days and almost no high-ozone days a year from 2018 to 2022.
Sources: EPA AirData county AQI summaries (2000 to 2025) and daily county AQI (2016 to 2025); CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Network modeled PM2.5 and ozone (2001 to 2022). Updated November 8, 2026.