Smoke: keep one room clean
Shut the windows and run an air purifier sized for the room.
Wildfire smoke guide →Air quality in Montana, county by county
19 Montana counties have enough EPA monitor data to count bad-air days. Weighted by population, they averaged about 6 days a year from 2021 to 2025 when the air was unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse.
CDC's model, which estimates every county from monitors and satellites, gives the average Montana county, weighted by population, about 6 smoky days (fine particles over 35.4 µg/m³, mostly wildfire smoke) and almost no high-ozone days a year at its worst spot (2018 to 2022). See every county on the map.
Every Montana county with monitors
Most bad-air days first. 11 have a full report. Compare with the worst and the cleanest counties in the US.
| County | Bad-air days a year | |
|---|---|---|
| Missoula CountyMissoulaSummer smoke | 11.4 | |
| Ravalli CountySmokeozone not measured | 10.6 | |
| Powder River CountySummer smoke | 10.0 | |
| Silver Bow CountySmokeozone not measured | 7.6 | |
| Lincoln CountySmokeozone not measured | 7.2 | |
| Lewis and Clark CountyHelenaSummer smoke | 7.0 | |
| Cascade CountyGreat FallsSmokeozone not measured | 6.3 | |
| Sanders CountySmokeozone not measured | 6.0 | |
| Fergus CountySummer smoke | 5.6 | |
| Richland CountySummer smoke | 5.2 | |
| Phillips CountySummer smoke | 4.6 | |
| Flathead CountyKalispellSummer smoke | 4.2 | |
| Rosebud CountySummer smoke | 3.8 | |
| Gallatin CountyBozemanSmokeozone not measured | 3.6 | |
| Yellowstone CountyBillingsSummer smoke | 3.4 | |
| Hill CountySmokeozone not measured | 3.3 | |
| Custer CountySummer smoke | 3.2 | |
| Glacier CountySmokeozone not measured | 3.0 | |
| Beaverhead CountySmokeozone not measured | 1.3 | |
| No Montana county with a monitor matches “”. Counties without a monitor aren't listed; a neighbor's numbers are a fair guide, or find it on the map. | ||
Counties without a monitor aren't listed. Air doesn't stop at the county line, so a neighbor's numbers are a fair guide.
What helps on a bad-air day
Check AirNow for today's reading and tomorrow's forecast, then match the step to the pollutant.
Upgrade the furnace filter
MERV 13 catches far more smoke than thin fiberglass filters.
Furnace filters →Questions people ask about air quality in Montana
Which county in Montana has the worst air?
Among Montana counties with EPA monitors, Missoula County had the most bad-air days from 2021 to 2025: about 11 bad-air days a year with an AQI over 100. That's about 1 day in 32.
How often is the air bad in Montana?
Weighted by population, Montana counties with monitors averaged about 6 bad-air days a year from 2021 to 2025 with an AQI over 100, when children, older adults and people with asthma should cut back outdoors. That's about 1 day in 62.
Which county in Montana has the cleanest air?
Of the 19 counties with enough monitor data, Beaverhead County had the fewest: 1.3 a year from 2021 to 2025. Counties without monitors aren't ranked.
Where can I check today's air quality in Montana?
AirNow, run by the EPA and its partners, shows current readings and forecasts by ZIP code, and its fire and smoke map adds smoke plumes and low-cost sensors.
Sources: EPA AirData county AQI summaries, 2021 to 2025; CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Network modeled PM2.5 and ozone, 2018 to 2022. Updated November 8, 2026.