Minneapolis Air Quality in Spring
Across 2019–2025, Minneapolis's spring (March–May) air quality had a median AQI of 47 (Good) over 644 monitored days in the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI area. 1.5% of spring days (10 of 644) reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse, and ground-level ozone set the daily AQI on 56.4% of days. The cleanest spring on record here was 2022 (median AQI 43, 0 days above 100) and the worst was 2023 (median 52, 8 days above 100, peak AQI 154).
- Good: 59.8%
- Moderate: 38.7%
- Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups: 1.2%
- Unhealthy or worse: 0.3%
Reduce Indoor Ozone in Minneapolis
Today's main pollutant in Minneapolis is ground-level ozone (AQI 25). Important: standard HEPA filters do NOT remove ozone — only a purifier with a substantial activated-carbon bed adsorbs it. The biggest wins are cutting indoor sources (gas appliances, certain "ionizer" purifiers) and ventilating when outdoor ozone is low (early morning). A high-carbon unit helps with the gases and VOCs that linger indoors.
Recommended: Levoit Core 300 — True HEPA + activated carbon · CADR ~141 CFM · rooms up to 219 sq ft
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How is the air in Minneapolis in spring?
Good on a typical day: median AQI 47 across 2019–2025, with 1.5% of spring days above AQI 100. Ground-level ozone is the main driver.
- ✓59.8% of spring days were Good (AQI 0–50), 38.7% Moderate (51–100).
- ✓10 days of 644 reached AQI 101+; the spring peak was 154.
- ✓Cleanest month: March; worst month: May.
Frequently asked questions
What is the air quality like in Minneapolis in spring?▾
Across 2019–2025, the median daily AQI in Minneapolis in spring was 47 (Good). 59.8% of days were Good, 38.7% Moderate, and 1.5% reached Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups or worse, based on 644 monitored days in EPA's Air Quality System.
Is spring a good time for outdoor exercise in Minneapolis?▾
A typical spring day in Minneapolis sits in the Good range (median AQI 47), so running, cycling and children's outdoor play are fine for everyone on most days; about 1 day in 67 of spring days (1.5%) reached AQI 101+ in 2019–2025.
Which pollutant causes Minneapolis's spring air quality problems?▾
Ground-level ozone set the daily AQI on 56.4% of spring days in Minneapolis. The highest spring AQI recorded in 2019–2025 was 154 (Unhealthy), in 2023.
Minneapolis spring air quality, year by year
Minneapolis spring air quality by year (Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI, EPA AQS daily AQI)
| Year | Days monitored | Median AQI | Days above 100 | Peak AQI | Main pollutant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 92 | 52 | 0 | 87 | O3 |
| 2020 | 92 | 47 | 0 | 68 | PM2.5 |
| 2021 | 92 | 47 | 0 | 89 | O3 |
| 2022cleanest | 92 | 43 | 0 | 77 | O3 |
| 2023worst | 92 | 52 | 8 | 154 | O3 |
| 2024 | 92 | 44 | 2 | 152 | O3 |
| 2025 | 92 | 45 | 0 | 97 | O3 |
What spring air means in Minneapolis
A typical spring day in Minneapolis sits in the Good range (median AQI 47), so running, cycling and children's outdoor play are fine for everyone on most days; about 1 day in 67 of spring days (1.5%) reached AQI 101+ in 2019–2025.
Spring's median AQI of 47 is in line with Minneapolis's whole-year median of 50, so this period is neither a clean nor a dirty stretch for the area. Nationally, the median Spring AQI across every EPA metro area (307,196 metro-days, 2019–2025) is 43, so Minneapolis runs above the national Spring norm; 1.5% of its Spring days topped AQI 100 versus 0.8% nationally (about the same).
Within the season, March is the cleanest month (median AQI 47, 0.0% of days above 100) and May the worst (median 49, 4.1% above 100).
Activity-specific thresholds: running, cycling, kids' sports.
Right now in Minneapolis
The latest EPA AirNow observation puts Minneapolis's AQI at 25 (O3). The figures above are multi-year season statistics, not today's reading.
View current Minneapolis air quality →Source: EPA Air Quality System (AQS) pre-generated Daily AQI by CBSA files — daily AQI by CBSA (Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI), 2019–2025. Daily AQI per CBSA is the highest AQI reported by any monitor in the area that day; the defining parameter is the pollutant that set it. Month and season statistics pool every such day in the period across all years listed. Retrieved 2026-09-09.