EPA air quality + NOAA smoke
New York air quality by county
Bad-air days, typical county
2.4
per year, AQI over 100 (US: 2.4)
Smoke days, average county
27
per year, medium or heavy plume (US: 24)
Mold pros licensed?
Yes
New York State Department of Labor, Mold Program
Wildfire smoke days by year
Days with a medium or heavy smoke plume overhead, averaged across New York's 62 counties. Smoke days come from NOAA satellite analysts, who draw where smoke plumes are overhead each day. A plume overhead does not always reach the ground, so these days measure exposure risk, not what you breathed. We count only medium and heavy plumes.
Every monitored New York county
Sorted by bad-air days. EPA monitors 27 of 62 counties; the rest have smoke data only.
| County | Good days | Bad days / yr | Main pollutant | Worst AQI | Smoke days / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suffolk | 76% | 8.6 | ozone | 195 (2023) | 23 |
| Queens | 58.2% | 6.6 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 278 (2023) | 25 |
| Bronx | 60.1% | 5.6 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 253 (2023) | 25 |
| New York | 60.1% | 5.2 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 208 (2023) | 25 |
| Westchester | 82% | 5 | ozone | 198 (2023) | 24 |
| Erie | 61.8% | 4.6 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 176 (2023) | 29 |
| Rockland | 84.4% | 4.4 | ozone | 197 (2023) | 24 |
| Richmond | 73.8% | 4.2 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 227 (2023) | 24 |
| Essex | 85.7% | 3.6 | ozone | 161 (2023) | 27 |
| Monroe | 70.5% | 3.4 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 176 (2023) | 30 |
| Albany | 71.5% | 3 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 186 (2023) | 25 |
| Onondaga | 81.8% | 2.6 | ozone | 258 (2023) | 29 |
| Chautauqua | 88.3% | 2.4 | ozone | 140 (2022) | 28 |
| Steuben | 82.7% | 2.4 | ozone | 256 (2023) | 27 |
| Putnam | 94% | 2.2 | ozone | 140 (2023) | 24 |
| Dutchess | 94.2% | 2 | ozone | 151 (2024) | 24 |
| Orange | 81.8% | 1.6 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 185 (2023) | 24 |
| Oneida | 85% | 1.4 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 190 (2023) | 28 |
| Kings | 63.9% | 1.2 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 249 (2023) | 25 |
| Nassau | 80.6% | 1 | fine particles (PM2.5) | 197 (2023) | 24 |
| Niagara | 93.2% | 0.8 | ozone | 133 (2022) | 31 |
| Wayne | 95.4% | 0.8 | ozone | 112 (2023) | 30 |
| Jefferson | 95.8% | 0.2 | ozone | 101 (2023) | 31 |
| Oswego | 96.7% | 0.2 | ozone | 105 (2023) | 29 |
| Saratoga | 96.5% | 0.2 | ozone | 122 (2023) | 25 |
| Tompkins | 94.6% | 0.2 | ozone | 105 (2021) | 27 |
| Hamilton | 96.9% | 0 | ozone | 100 (2021) | 27 |
Most smoke days in New York: St. Lawrence (31 days), Jefferson (31 days), Niagara (31 days), Wayne (30 days), Orleans (30 days).
EPA's Air Quality Index runs from 0 to 500. Up to 50 is good and 51-100 is moderate. Above 100 the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups (children, older adults, and people with asthma or heart or lung disease), and above 150 it is unhealthy for everyone. We count a county's bad days as days above 100, averaged over 2021-2025.
Mold and indoor air in New York
In New York, mold assessors and mold remediation contractors must be licensed by the State Department of Labor, the same company cannot do both the assessment and the cleanup on one property, and you can search licensed mold contractors through the Labor Department's search tool on data.ny.gov. New York State Department of Labor, Mold Program, license lookup.
No agency measures indoor air city by city, so nobody can tell you your home's numbers except a monitor in your home. What research does show: Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors (EPA's National Human Activity Pattern Survey, 2001), EPA studies in the 1980s often found indoor levels of some chemical vapors two to five times outdoor levels, and during wildfire smoke the particles get inside unless windows stay shut and a filter runs.
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Radon + air quality monitor
Radon zone 1: one device answers radon and air quality.
One battery device that tracks radon alongside particles, CO2, humidity and VOCs. Worth it in a radon zone 1 or 2 county where you want both answers.
Airthings View Plus (radon + PM2.5, CO2, VOC)
Price at Airthings, checked Oct 5, 2026Sold directly by Airthings
Airthings Wave Plus (radon + CO2, VOC)
Price at Airthings, checked Oct 5, 2026Sold directly by Airthings
HEPA air purifier
For allergies, pets, or the occasional smoke day.
A true HEPA purifier sized to the room removes fine particles such as smoke, dust and pollen. Check the CADR rating and skip anything that makes ozone.
Levoit Core 300 (bedroom-size HEPA)
BudgetWinix 5520 (large-room HEPA)
Mid-rangeCO2 monitor
Stuffy bedroom or home office? CO2 tells you when to open a window.
CO2 is the best quick check on whether a room gets enough fresh air. Look for an NDIR sensor; cheap 'eCO2' sensors estimate it from VOCs instead of measuring it.
Aranet4 Home CO2 monitor (NDIR)
PremiumTemtop portable CO2 monitor
BudgetMold test kit
Musty smell or a past leak: a cheap first look before calling a pro.
A cheap first look. Settle-plate kits grow whatever spores are in the air, so they almost always show something; a visible patch or musty smell matters more than the plate.
Mold Armor DIY mold test kit
Budget12-test home mold test kit (air, HVAC, surfaces)
BudgetNew York cities: water, radon and air
Questions
How often is there wildfire smoke in New York?+
NOAA satellites placed a medium or heavy smoke plume over the average New York county on about 27 days a year from 2021-2025, above the typical US county. The worst year was 2023 (58 days on average). Smoke overhead does not always reach the ground.
Do mold inspectors need a license in New York?+
In New York, mold assessors and mold remediation contractors must be licensed by the State Department of Labor, the same company cannot do both the assessment and the cleanup on one property, and you can search licensed mold contractors through the Labor Department's search tool on data.ny.gov.
Is indoor air worse than outdoor air?+
No agency measures indoor air city by city, so nobody can tell you your home's numbers except a monitor in your home. What research does show: Americans spend about 90% of their time indoors (EPA's National Human Activity Pattern Survey, 2001), EPA studies in the 1980s often found indoor levels of some chemical vapors two to five times outdoor levels, and during wildfire smoke the particles get inside unless windows stay shut and a filter runs.
Sources: EPA AirData annual AQI by county, 2021-2025; NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke polygons, 2021-2025; New York State Department of Labor, Mold Program (Labor Law Article 32). Methodology.