Cave Creek, Arizona Air Quality
Cave Creek air quality today — the AQI, the main pollutant, and whether it’s safe to exercise outside right now
Cave Creek, AZ · Air quality right now
The air quality index in Cave Creek, AZ is 35 (Good) right now — safe for outdoor activity.
Is it safe to be outside in Cave Creek today?
AQI 35 Yes — air quality is Good
Air is clean — great for outdoor activity.Main pollutant: OzoneObserved 12:00 AM MST
Pollutants right now
- PM2.55.2 µg/m³fine particles — smoke, exhaust, soot
- PM1015 µg/m³coarse particles — dust, pollen, ash
- Ozone65 µg/m³Main pollutantsmog — builds on hot, sunny days
- NO₂4.1 µg/m³nitrogen dioxide — traffic, combustion
ExerciseOK to run — no air-quality limits on outdoor exercise.
How to read Cave Creek’s air quality
Guides: The AQI Scale, Explained · Air Quality Alerts, Decoded · How to Read a Wildfire Smoke Map · Why Wildfire Smoke Travels 1,000 Miles.
Air quality over time in Cave Creek
Across the EPA’s county records from 2020 to 2025, Cave Creek’s cleanest year was 2023 (median AQI 72) and its most polluted was 2021 (median AQI 122); the typical (median) day has trended cleaner since 2020.
| Year | Median AQI | Unhealthy+ | Main pollutant | USG | Moderate | Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 112 | 141 | Ozone | 60 | 154 | 11 |
| 2021 | 122 | 134 | Ozone | 91 | 128 | 12 |
| 2022 | 75 | 23 | Ozone | 73 | 242 | 27 |
| 2023 | 72 | 7 | Ozone | 61 | 256 | 41 |
| 2024 | 77 | 8 | Ozone | 65 | 260 | 33 |
| 2025 | 73 | 6 | Ozone | 32 | 295 | 32 |
“USG” is Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (AQI 101–150); “Unhealthy+” combines the Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, and Hazardous days. In 2024 the EPA tightened the annual fine-particle (PM2.5) standard to 9 µg/m³ from the previous 12 µg/m³, so counties near the old limit read worse against the new one. Source: EPA AQS annual summaries, 2020–2025.
Frequently asked
- What was the worst year for air quality in Cave Creek?
- In the EPA's 2020–2025 county records, 2021 had the most days above AQI 100: 225 days (91 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, 134 Unhealthy or worse). It also had the highest median AQI, 122.
- How many unhealthy air days does Cave Creek have?
- Across 2020–2025, 32% of the days reported for Cave Creek's county had an AQI above 100 (701 of 2192), about 117 days a year. 2025 had 38 days.
- What's the main air pollutant in Cave Creek?
- Ozone: it drove Cave Creek's county AQI on the most days in every year of the EPA's 2020–2025 records.