The group’s 26th annual “State of the Air” report found that Charlotte now has a failing grade with its year-round average level of particle pollution.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte’s overall air quality has gotten worse since last year, according to new reporting from the American Lung Association.
On Wednesday, the association shared its 26th annual “State of the Air” report, which tracks air quality across the United States. The ALA said Charlotteans are becoming more exposed to unhealthy ozone smog and particle pollution. It’s not just Charlotte, however; the association notes nearly half of the American population – 46% – lives in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, with factors like extreme heat and wildfires contributing to the issue across the country. It estimates about 42.5 million people live in areas with failing grades.
Further, the report also found that people of color in the U.S. are more than twice as likely as white counterparts to live in a community with a failing grade on all three pollution measures. Notably, Hispanic individuals are nearly three times as likely as white individuals to live in a community with three failing grades.
For 2025, the ALA said Charlotte has a “D” grade when it comes to ground-level ozone pollution, with roughly 2.7 unhealthy days within the previous year. To compare it to last year, Charlotte had a “C” grade with just one unhealthy day detected. Nationally, Charlotte ranks the 79th worst out of 228 cities, the same placement it had in 2024.
Charlotte largely stayed the course regarding short-term spikes in particle pollution. The ALA notes the Queen City’s “C” grade from last year remained the same, although 1.3 unhealthy days were detected for the 2025 report as opposed to just one the year prior. Charlotte’s ranking dropped as well, down to 125th worst out of 223 cities in 2025 from 85th worst in 2024.
Charlotte is also now considered failing regarding the year-round average level of particle pollution and ranked 59th worst out of 204 cities. Last year, Charlotte was granted a passing grade and was 84th worst.
“Unfortunately, too many people in the Charlotte metro area are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution. This air pollution is a threat to human health at every stage of life—increasing the risk of premature birth and low birth weight in babies to causing or worsening lung and heart disease to shortening lives,” said Danna Thompson, director of advocacy for the Lung Association in North Carolina. “We urge North Carolina policymakers to take action to improve our air quality, and we are calling on everyone to support the incredibly important work of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Without EPA staff and programs, North Carolinians won’t know what’s in the air they’re breathing, and efforts to clean up air pollution will be undone.”
The issues aren’t local to Charlotte, however. The Raleigh-Durham metro area saw its 2024 “B” grade for daily particle pollution drop to a “C” for 2025. Even the Wilmington and Asheville areas, typically among the nation’s cleanest, suffered dropping grades. Wilmington’s “A” grade from 2024 for year-round particle pollution dropped to a “B”, while Asheville’s “B” grade for short-term particle pollution fell to a “C”.
The ALA notes the “State of the Air” report relies on data from air quality monitors managed by state, local and Tribal air pollution control authorities in counties across the U.S. In North Carolina, only 34 out of 100 counties could be graded for at least one measure of air quality.
The association called on neighbors to support the federal Environmental Protection Agency as well.
