Air quality in United States
Air quality in Illinois today
Updated
Good: average US AQI 48 across 25 cities in Illinois Worst now: Chicago (58); cleanest: Rockford (34).
Live US AQI, PM2.5 and ozone for cities across Illinois, compared with the United States average.
- Average US AQI
- 48 Good
- United States average
- 50 747 cities
- Most polluted now
- Chicago AQI 58
- Cleanest now
- Rockford AQI 34
- Cities above 100
- 0
Air quality in Illinois today
Right now the modelled air quality in Illinois averages a US AQI of 48 (Good) across the 25 cities we track. By category: 11 Good, 14 Moderate (of 25).
That is close to the United States average of 50, ranking 32 of 51 states from cleanest to most polluted.
Chicago has the worst air at 58 (PM2.5 14 µg/m³), and Rockford the cleanest at 34. No tracked city is above 100, so no group needs to change plans.
Illinois cities by AQI (most polluted first)
| City | US AQI | Category | PM2.5 µg/m³ | PM10 µg/m³ | Ozone µg/m³ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 58 | Moderate | 13.8 | 14 | 66 |
| Evanston | 58 | Moderate | 13.8 | 14 | 66 |
| Burbank | 58 | Moderate | 13.8 | 14 | 66 |
| Tinley Park | 55 | Moderate | 7.2 | 7 | 83 |
| Chicago Heights | 55 | Moderate | 7.2 | 7 | 83 |
| Elgin | 54 | Moderate | 11.5 | 12 | 66 |
| Arlington Heights | 54 | Moderate | 11.5 | 12 | 66 |
| Palatine | 54 | Moderate | 11.5 | 12 | 66 |
| Bartlett | 54 | Moderate | 11.5 | 12 | 66 |
| Wheeling | 54 | Moderate | 11.5 | 12 | 66 |
| St. Charles | 54 | Moderate | 11.5 | 12 | 66 |
| West Chicago | 54 | Moderate | 11.5 | 12 | 66 |
| North Chicago | 51 | Moderate | 9.7 | 10 | 65 |
| Zion | 51 | Moderate | 9.7 | 10 | 65 |
| Joliet | 50 | Good | 7.2 | 7 | 78 |
| Normal | 43 | Good | 1.9 | 2 | 100 |
| Charleston | 43 | Good | 2.7 | 3 | 104 |
| Springfield | 40 | Good | 2.7 | 3 | 100 |
| Peoria | 39 | Good | 3.3 | 3 | 95 |
| North Peoria | 39 | Good | 3.3 | 3 | 95 |
| Quincy | 39 | Good | 2.5 | 3 | 101 |
| Aurora | 35 | Good | 5.3 | 5 | 83 |
| Naperville | 35 | Good | 5.3 | 5 | 83 |
| Oswego | 35 | Good | 5.3 | 5 | 83 |
| Rockford | 34 | Good | 3.5 | 4 | 83 |
What the US AQI numbers mean
| US AQI | Category | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 0-50 | Good | Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no risk; a good time for outdoor activity. |
| 51-100 | Moderate | Acceptable for most people. Unusually sensitive people should consider shortening long or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 101-150 | Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups | People with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens should cut back on prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors. |
| 151-200 | Unhealthy | Everyone should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors; sensitive groups should avoid it and keep windows closed. |
| 201-300 | Very Unhealthy | Health alert: everyone should avoid prolonged or heavy exertion outdoors, and sensitive groups should stay indoors. |
| 301-500 | Hazardous | Emergency conditions: everyone should avoid all outdoor physical activity and stay indoors with filtered air if possible. The scale tops out at 500; heavier dust or smoke is shown as 500. |
Modelled by CAMS (Copernicus) via Open-Meteo, refreshed twice a day; read hour by hour from the forecast.
Cities in Illinois
- Air quality in Chicago
- Air quality in Aurora
- Air quality in Rockford
- Air quality in Joliet
- Air quality in Naperville
- Air quality in Peoria
- Air quality in Springfield
- Air quality in North Peoria
- Air quality in Elgin
- Air quality in Arlington Heights
- Air quality in Evanston
- Air quality in Palatine
- Air quality in Tinley Park
- Air quality in Normal
- Air quality in Bartlett
- Air quality in Quincy
- Air quality in Wheeling
- Air quality in Oswego
- Air quality in St. Charles
- Air quality in Chicago Heights
- Air quality in North Chicago
- Air quality in Burbank
- Air quality in West Chicago
- Air quality in Zion
- Air quality in Charleston
More
Data: Open-Meteo Air Quality API, Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS).