Darmstadt vs Frankfurt am Main
Tree cover and air quality for both, measured the same way: Sentinel-2 imagery at 10 m detail over a 2 km radius from each city centre, and the live US EPA air quality index. Same radius and same index, so the two numbers compare directly.
Darmstadt has more tree cover — 40.6% against 36.7%.
Frankfurt am Main has cleaner air right now — AQI 27 against 35.
- Tree cover gap
- 3.9 points
- Darmstadt is ahead.
- Air quality gap
- 8 AQI
- Frankfurt am Main is cleaner.
- Trees between them
- 17.5K
- Darmstadt has more standing.
Germany
Germany
Tree cover
Share of the 2 km radius under canopy.
40.6%
36.7%
Air quality index
US EPA index, live, with its band. Lower is better.
35 · Good
27 · Good
Trees standing
Estimated from the measured canopy area.
127K
110K
Trees still needed
To reach the same canopy target. Fewer is better.
0
0
CO₂ absorbed each year
By the trees already standing.
2.8M kg
2.4M kg
Air quality in detail
What each city is breathing
Concentrations in µg/m³, measured at the same moment as the index above. Lower is better in every row. Both are read from nearby ground stations.
PM2.5
Fine particles, the pollutant that usually sets the index.
8.3 µg/m³
6.4 µg/m³
The last week, day by day
A single reading can catch a city on a bad afternoon. The week says whether it was the weather or the place.
| Day | Darmstadt | Frankfurt am Main |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Sept | 39 | 35 |
| 23 Sept | 33 | 44 |
| 24 Sept | 36 | 38 |
| 25 Sept | 41 | 44 |
| 26 Sept | 41 | 58 |
| 27 Sept | 38 | 42 |
| 28 Sept | 42 | 46 |
Reading these numbers
What is actually being measured
Tree cover
The share of ground under canopy inside a 2 km radius of each city centre, read from Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at 10 m detail. It is a measurement of that circle, not of the whole municipality — which is exactly what makes the two comparable, since city boundaries are drawn to wildly different rules around the world. Darmstadt leads here at 40.6%.
Air quality index
The live US EPA index, computed from current pollutant concentrations — ground stations where a city has them nearby, and a model everywhere else. It moves hour to hour, so this is a snapshot rather than a verdict on either place: Darmstadt reads 35 (good) and Frankfurt am Main reads 27 (good) right now.
Frequently asked
Darmstadt and Frankfurt am Main, answered
Which has more trees, Darmstadt or Frankfurt am Main?
Darmstadt, with roughly 127,038 trees inside its 2 km radius against 109,532. Tree cover tells a slightly different story from raw count: Darmstadt has the denser canopy at 40.6%.
Which has better air quality, Darmstadt or Frankfurt am Main?
Frankfurt am Main right now, at AQI 27 against 35 — a gap of 8 points. This is a live reading rather than an annual average, so it can reverse within a day.
How many more trees does each city need?
Darmstadt needs about 0 more to reach its canopy target, and Frankfurt am Main about 0. The target is the same share of ground for both, so the figures are directly comparable.
Are these two measured the same way?
Yes — that is the point of the page. Identical radius, identical satellite source at 10 m detail, and the same US EPA index for air. Nothing here is adjusted for population, city limits or climate, so the numbers describe the same-sized circle of ground in each place.
Keep going
Other comparisons nearby
Build your own
Compare Darmstadt with somewhere else
This place
Darmstadt
Want a different pair? Browse comparisons or measure any address.