City report · Iowa, United States
Cedar Rapids Air quality today
Air quality in Cedar Rapids currently reads AQI 35 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 35
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.3
- tree cover
- 42.0%
- trees in this area
- 132K
- more trees needed
- 0
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Cedar Rapids, IA, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 28, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Cedar Rapids · AQI 35 (Good)
Cedar Rapids's tree count comes to 131,947 trees across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²), already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Cedar Rapids today: AQI 35, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 08:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · MCKINLEY STEAM, 2.0 mi (3.2 km) away · median of 2 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.3
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
0.0
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirNow
- Outdoor exercise
- A good day to be active outside
- Windows
- Open them to air the house
- Mask
- Not needed
- Air purifier
- Not needed
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cedar Rapids's daily AQI at 28 on average, from 7 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 66 on Nov 9.
Where Cedar Rapids stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Cedar Rapids: Healthy tree cover
42.0% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²).
Trees in this area
131,947
Target trees
131,947
More trees needed
0
CO₂ if planted / yr
0 kg
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Cedar Rapids lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cedar Rapids has lost about 1,730 acres (700 hectares) of forest (about 1,300 football fields): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (51%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from September 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 3 km southeast of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,730 acres (700 ha)about 1,300 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 13%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 877 acres (355 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Forest loss is slowing down: about 38 acres (15 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 288 acres (116 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2020, when about 1,370 acres (556 hectares) of forest were lost.
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 6 acres (2 ha) | under 1 ha | 6 acres (2 ha) |
| 2002 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2003 | 3 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2004 | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) |
| 2005 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2006 | 2 acres (1 ha) | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2007 | under 1 ha | 4 acres (2 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) |
| 2008 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2009 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2010 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | under 1 ha |
| 2011 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) |
| 2012 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2013 | 7 acres (3 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 12 acres (5 ha) |
| 2014 | 33 acres (13 ha) | under 1 ha | 34 acres (14 ha) |
| 2015 | 12 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 13 acres (5 ha) |
| 2016 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 7 acres (3 ha) |
| 2017 | 19 acres (8 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 22 acres (9 ha) |
| 2018 | 12 acres (5 ha) | under 1 ha | 14 acres (6 ha) |
| 2019 | 18 acres (7 ha) | 5 acres (2 ha) | 23 acres (9 ha) |
| 2020 | 615 acres (249 ha) | 759 acres (307 ha) | 1,370 acres (556 ha) |
| 2021 | 63 acres (25 ha) | 22 acres (9 ha) | 85 acres (34 ha) |
| 2022 | 12 acres (5 ha) | 15 acres (6 ha) | 27 acres (11 ha) |
| 2023 | 21 acres (9 ha) | 6 acres (2 ha) | 27 acres (11 ha) |
| 2024 | 29 acres (12 ha) | 20 acres (8 ha) | 48 acres (20 ha) |
| 2025 | under 1 ha | under 1 ha | 3 acres (1 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Cedar Rapids?
- Loggingcan grow back48% · 828 acres (335 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good48% · 823 acres (333 ha)
- Mining and energycleared for good2% · 35 acres (14 ha)
Also: farms, pasture and plantations, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020
- Forest in 2000
- 14,900 acres (6,030 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 14,600 acres (5,910 ha)
- Overall change
- −289 acres (117 ha)less forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cedar Rapids stayed about the same size, at about 14,600 acres (5,910 hectares): new forest grew on about 460 acres (186 hectares), and about 749 acres (303 hectares) were lost.
These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.
These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.
Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured
In the same region
Measured cities near Cedar Rapids
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Davenport103.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 29%
- Air quality
- 44
- Des Moines169.1 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 30
- Rockford212.3 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 40%
- Air quality
- 79
- Madison218.6 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 36
- Peoria225.4 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 31%
- Air quality
- 49
- Rochester233.7 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 42%
- Air quality
- 36
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Frequently asked
Questions about Cedar Rapids
What is the air quality (AQI) in Cedar Rapids right now?
The latest reading for Cedar Rapids shows an AQI of 35 (Good), measured Nov 11, 08:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is MCKINLEY STEAM, 2.0 mi (3.2 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Cedar Rapids today?
At AQI 35 (Good): a good day to be active outside. Windows: open them to air the house. Masks: not needed. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.
What has the air quality in Cedar Rapids been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Cedar Rapids's daily AQI at 28 on average, from 7 on Nov 5 to an hourly peak of 66 on Nov 9. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.
How much forest has the area around Cedar Rapids lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Cedar Rapids has lost about 1,730 acres (700 hectares) of forest (about 1,300 football fields): 13% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (51%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Forest loss is slowing down: about 38 acres (15 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, down from 288 acres (116 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Cedar Rapids stayed about the same size, at about 14,600 acres (5,910 hectares): new forest grew on about 460 acres (186 hectares), and about 749 acres (303 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Cedar Rapids?
Cedar Rapids has an estimated 131,947 trees across the 4.9 sq mi (12.57 km²) measured — 42.0% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Cedar Rapids need?
Cedar Rapids has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.
How are Cedar Rapids's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Cedar Rapids, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Cedar Rapids; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
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