Imagine a walk to the park. You feel the breeze, hear the birds, and take a deep breath. That breath brings oxygen into your body. It can also carry things you didn’t notice.
Air quality describes how clean or polluted the air is. Some pollution is visible as smoke or haze. Some is invisible. A blue sky is beautiful, but it cannot tell the whole story.
Smoke and dust can contain very small particles. The tiniest ones can travel deep into the lungs. Scientists call particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller PM2.5.
For children: “Some specks are too small for our eyes to see.”
02
Ground-level ozone
Ozone high above Earth helps shield us from the sun. Near the ground, ozone is a pollutant that can irritate our breathing passages. Sunlight helps it form from other pollutants.
For children: “The same gas can help in one place and hurt in another.”
03
Pollution that moves
Traffic, fires, and other sources can put pollution into the air. Wind can carry it to another community. Weather can change how much pollution builds up in a place.
For children: “Air travels. What happens far away can reach us.”
02 / AIR & HEALTH
Cleaner air supports the life you want to live.
Breathing, playing, resting, and growing all depend on the air around us. Understanding it helps your family make thoughtful plans.
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Lungs & breathing
Your lungs bring oxygen into your body. Particle pollution and ozone can irritate the airways and make breathing harder. People with asthma may be especially sensitive.
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Heart health
Your heart moves oxygen-rich blood through your body. Fine-particle pollution can affect the heart as well as the lungs. Cleaner air helps reduce exposure to these pollutants.
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Growing children
Children’s lungs are still developing. Running and playing increases the amount of air they breathe. Checking current conditions helps adults plan their outdoor time.
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Outdoor play
Movement matters. When local air-quality guidance calls for changes, consider a shorter outing, gentler activity, or a cleaner indoor space. Follow your child’s existing care plan.
Use current local air-quality information for today’s plans. The NDS historical score helps you explore places over time.
A DAILY CHECK-IN
A color can start a conversation.
EPA’s daily Air Quality Index—AQI—uses six categories. Higher AQI means more pollution and greater health concern. Choose a color to learn what it means.
AQI 0–50 / GOOD
A good day to make outdoor plans.
Air quality is satisfactory, with little or no risk from air pollution for most people.
03 / DEFINING THE AIR INDEX
Today has a reading. A place has a history.
Air Index is the consumer intelligence brand. It helps your family understand air quality and explore places. The NDS Air Quality Score is the comparative analytical measure behind its historical rankings: it combines typical air quality, Good Days, difficult days, fine-particle pollution, and trends.
It helps you ask: “Which places have a more favorable air-quality history?” The underlying EPA records span 2016–2025. Explore published scores and grades at AirQualityByZip.com.
EPA AQI · OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT MEASURE
How is the air today?
Higher AQI = greater concern.
AIR INDEX · CONSUMER INTELLIGENCE BRAND
What does the air mean for your family?
Learn, compare, and explore with NDS.
NDS AIR QUALITY SCORE · COMPARATIVE ANALYTICAL MEASURE
What is this place’s history?
Higher score = more favorable historical air quality.
The NDS score is a separate comparison, not EPA’s official AQI. ZIP profiles inherit evidence from their associated county; conditions can differ within a county. Historical grades do not promise symptom relief or describe every address.
EXHIBIT A / THE ALGORITHM’S WEIGHTING
Six measures. One broader picture.
Think of 100 pieces of attention. We give the biggest share to ordinary air-quality days, while also making room for difficult days and change over time.
30%
Median AQI
What is an ordinary air-quality day like?
A lower median AQI is favorable. The median is the middle reported reading.
The weights apply to NDS component scores, not directly to raw AQI values or particle concentrations. This exhibit explains the weighting; use the published scores for location comparisons.
TURN LEARNING INTO EXPLORATION
Where could your air story go next?
Start with a place that interests your family. These are three leaders in the supplied AirQualityByZip.com ranking.
Source: AirQualityByZip.com supplied ranking. National positions are among 1,049 scored counties and county equivalents. Explore the site for profiles and comparisons.
