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 Wake County, NC
Includes Raleigh and Cary · EPA monitor readings, 2021 to 2025 · 1.1 million people
For today's air and tomorrow's forecast, check AirNow by ZIP code.
Bad-air days a year
1
day with an AQI over 100
7 bad-air days in 5 years of readings, 2021 to 2025. That's down from about 47 a year in the early 2000s. Wake County is tied with 1 other North Carolina county for the 4th most bad-air days of the 34 with monitors.
0days unhealthy for everyoneAQI over 150, a year
46AQI on a typical dayGood: fine for everyone
Jun, Jul and Novworst monthsSmoke and particles in summer and fall
135worst day since 2016Nov 18, 2016, 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 46 (Good)Worst day 135 (Unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Good0 to 50Moderate51 to 100Sensitive groups101 to 150Unhealthy151 to 200Very unhealthy201 to 300Hazardous301 to 500
When bad air happens in Wake County
Average bad-air days in each month, from 10 years of daily readings since 2016. Most fall in June, July and November.
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun0.7
Jul0.1
Aug0.1
Sep0
Oct0
Nov0.2
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 | 0 |
| June | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 |
| July | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| August | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 |
| September | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| October | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| December | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The worst day since 2016 was November 18, 2016: AQI 135, from fine particles.
What causes it
The pollutant that pushed the AQI over 100 on each of the 11 bad-air days since 2016.
27%Ozone: smog that forms in sunlight on hot days
73%Fine particles: smoke and soot
The rare bad days here are mostly fine-particle days in summer and fall, the months when wildfire smoke drives particle pollution.
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 | 0 |
| February | 0 | 0 |
| March | 0 | 0 |
| April | 0 | 1.2 |
| May | 0 | 2.0 |
| June | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| July | 0.5 | 3.2 |
| August | 0.5 | 3.1 |
| September | 0 | 1.6 |
| October | 0 | 0.1 |
| November | 0 | 0 |
| December | 0 | 0 |
What helps in Wake County
Most bad days here are smoke and other fine particles. Filtering the air at home helps most.
Upgrade the furnace filter
Use MERV 13 if your system can take it, and run the fan on smoky days.
Furnace filters →Wear an N95 outside on smoky days
A well-fitted N95 helps. Cloth and surgical masks do little against smoke.
Wildfire smoke guide →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 2000
Bad-air days each year. The striped part is days unhealthy for everyone, over AQI 150. The worst recent year was 2023, with 5 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 65 | 14 |
| 2001 | 62 | 6 |
| 2002 | 61 | 23 |
| 2003 | 30 | 6 |
| 2004 | 18 | 0 |
| 2005 | 37 | 5 |
| 2006 | 20 | 0 |
| 2007 | 34 | 2 |
| 2008 | 16 | 1 |
| 2009 | 3 | 0 |
| 2010 | 9 | 0 |
| 2011 | 23 | 2 |
| 2012 | 7 | 1 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 3 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 5 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 |
Wake County and its neighbors
Bad-air days a year, 2021 to 2025. North Carolina counties with monitors averaged about 1 bad-air day a year, weighted by population.
Nearest county with a full report: Cumberland County, NC (under 1 bad-air day a year).
Questions people ask about air in Wake County
How often is the air bad in Wake County?
From 2021 to 2025, monitors in Wake County recorded about 1 bad-air day a year with an AQI above 100, which is unhealthy for sensitive groups or worse. The worst year in that stretch was 2023, with 5 bad-air days.
What causes bad air in Wake County?
The rare bad days here are mostly fine-particle days in summer and fall, the months when wildfire smoke drives particle pollution. Bad days cluster in June, July and November.
Where can I see today's air quality in Wake 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 Wake County is about 46, which is good, fine for everyone. Check it most in June, July and November, 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 365 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 Wake 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.