Brainerd, MN Air Quality
EPA monitor data through 2025 · Updated August 13, 2026 · Methods
In 2025, Brainerd, MN recorded 16 days above an Air Quality Index of 100, the level at which EPA begins warning sensitive groups, out of 365 days with monitoring data. Most of those bad days were driven by fine particles. Under the AQI rules that applied before 2013, the same air would have scored 14 days. Since 2005, unhealthy days are 600% higher on a consistent definition.
Unhealthy days by year, scored two ways
EPA changed what an AQI of 100 means in 2013 and again in 2015, so a count published before those changes is not comparable to one published after. Each panel below applies a single fixed rulebook to every year, so each is internally consistent. Why this matters.
Scored by today's rules
Scored by the pre-2013 rules
What 2025 looked like
| Air quality category | Days | Share of monitored days |
|---|---|---|
| Good | 271 | 74% |
| Moderate | 78 | 21% |
| Unhealthy for sensitive groups | 8 | 2% |
| Unhealthy or worse | 8 | 2% |
Median AQI 39 · 90th-percentile AQI 66 · worst day 177. Scored under current rules.
What drove the unhealthy days
Of the 16 days above 100 in 2025, 1 were driven by ozone and 15 by fine particles. The two behave differently. Ozone peaks on hot sunny afternoons; fine particles now spike mainly with wildfire smoke. In the eastern United States, ozone has stopped responding to emission cuts: nitrogen oxide emissions kept falling after 2014 and ambient ozone barely moved.
The unhealthy days in 2025
Every day the index passed 100, what it reached, and which pollutant drove it. 2 of these 16 would not have counted as unhealthy under the pre-2013 rules.
| Date | Peak AQI | Driven by | Pre-2013 score |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 | 105 | Ozone | 90 (not unhealthy) |
| Jun 2 | 169 | Fine particles | 160 |
| Jun 3 | 111 | Fine particles | 99 (not unhealthy) |
| Jul 11 | 171 | Fine particles | 162 |
| Jul 12 | 174 | Fine particles | 164 |
| Jul 13 | 122 | Fine particles | 108 |
| Jul 14 | 125 | Fine particles | 110 |
| Jul 20 | 147 | Fine particles | 128 |
| Jul 24 | 159 | Fine particles | 152 |
| Jul 25 | 115 | Fine particles | 102 |
| Jul 29 | 137 | Fine particles | 120 |
| Jul 30 | 160 | Fine particles | 153 |
| Jul 31 | 177 | Fine particles | 166 |
| Aug 1 | 161 | Fine particles | 154 |
| Aug 2 | 142 | Fine particles | 124 |
| Aug 11 | 155 | Fine particles | 141 |
Statewide context
Brainerd, MN sits in Minnesota.
The full series
| Year | Unhealthy days, current rules | Pre-2013 rules | Days monitored |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 2001 | 1 | 1 | 44 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 | 55 |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 210 |
| 2005 | 5 | 2 | 332 |
| 2006 | 3 | 2 | 346 |
| 2007 | 6 | 3 | 354 |
| 2008 | 2 | 1 | 364 |
| 2009 | 0 | 0 | 360 |
| 2010 | 1 | 1 | 330 |
| 2011 | 2 | 0 | 350 |
| 2012 | 0 | 0 | 360 |
| 2013 | 0 | 0 | 365 |
| 2014 | 0 | 0 | 365 |
| 2015 | 2 | 2 | 365 |
| 2016 | 0 | 0 | 357 |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | 365 |
| 2018 | 1 | 0 | 364 |
| 2019 | 2 | 1 | 359 |
| 2020 | 0 | 0 | 366 |
| 2021 | 11 | 11 | 365 |
| 2022 | 0 | 0 | 365 |
| 2023 | 10 | 6 | 365 |
| 2024 | 1 | 1 | 366 |
| 2025 | 16 | 14 | 365 |
Sources
- EPA AirData daily monitor files, recomputed under both breakpoint tables. Methods and validation.
- Download the full dataset for every state and metro.