Health & Environment Data retrieved 2026-08-22
Fine particle air pollution (PM2.5)
NYC's citywide average fine-particle air pollution each year since 2009: 10.43 micrograms per cubic meter that first year, 6.26 in 2024.
6.26 mcg/m3
citywide average PM2.5 in 2024
Down 40% from 10.43 in 2009, when the survey began. The cleanest year so far was 2022, at 5.76.
The numbers behind this chart
| Year | Citywide annual mean fine particulate matter (PM2.5) |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 10.43 |
| 2010 | 9.54 |
| 2011 | 10.1 |
| 2012 | 8.95 |
| 2013 | 8.63 |
| 2014 | 8.93 |
| 2015 | 8.56 |
| 2016 | 7.45 |
| 2017 | 7.38 |
| 2018 | 7 |
| 2019 | 6.6 |
| 2020 | 6.06 |
| 2021 | 6.54 |
| 2022 | 5.76 |
| 2023 | 6.66 |
| 2024 | 6.26 |
The key years
What this counts
The citywide annual average concentration of fine particulate matter, PM2.5, in New York City's outdoor air, measured in micrograms per cubic meter, from the street-level monitoring network the NYC Community Air Survey has operated since 2008.
What it does not say
- This is a citywide average across the survey's monitor network; PM2.5 varies block to block, and DOHMH's own neighborhood-level figures can run higher near busy roads or industry than the citywide number shows.
- An annual mean smooths out short spikes: a bad wildfire-smoke day, like the one that hit the city in June 2023, can push a single day's air far worse than the yearly average reflects.
- NYCCAS has adjusted its monitoring and modeling approach over the life of the survey, so year-to-year moves are best read as a broad trend, not a precise point change.
The questions New Yorkers actually ask
Is NYC's air quality getting better?
By this measure, yes: citywide average PM2.5 fell from 10.43 micrograms per cubic meter in 2009 to 6.26 in 2024, a drop of 40%, with the cleanest year so far, 5.76, in 2022.
What does PM2.5 measure?
Fine particulate matter, airborne particles small enough to reach deep into the lungs, tracked here as a citywide annual average in micrograms per cubic meter from the NYC Community Air Survey's monitoring network.
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