United States · Iowa · 3 places
Air quality in Iowa today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Des Moines has the cleanest air of the 3 Iowa cities we track (AQI 30, Good), and Davenport the worst (AQI 44, Good). Cedar Rapids has the most tree cover, at 42.0% — #29 of 278 large US cities.
Every place is measured the same way, over the same 1.2 mi (2 km) around its center: the air quality right now, from ground stations where there are any, and its tree cover.
Average right now
AQI 36
Good
- places tracked
- 3
- average tree cover
- 34.0%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Davenport
- 44
- cleanest air now: Des Moines
- 30
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Iowa · average AQI 36
Air quality today across Iowa, city by city
| Des Moines | 30Good | 30.6% | — | #90 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Rapids | 35Good | 42.0% | — | #29 of 278 |
| Davenport | 44Good | 29.3% | 1.8K | #103 of 278 |
Air quality is the US AQI from ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ where available, otherwise the Open-Meteo / CAMS model, refreshed hourly. Tree cover is measured within 1.2 mi (2 km) of each city center from Sentinel-2 imagery. The US greenness rank covers cities of 100,000+ people; see the full ranking.
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Iowa lost?
Since 2001, Iowa has lost about 36,600 acres (14,800 hectares) of forest (about 28,000 football fields): 1.2% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (55%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for farms, pasture and plantations.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 36,600 acres (14,800 ha)about 28,000 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 1.2%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 20,100 acres (8,130 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
Acres of forest lost each year
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Cleared for good | Can grow back | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 210 acres (85 ha) | 304 acres (123 ha) | 514 acres (208 ha) |
| 2002 | 176 acres (71 ha) | 221 acres (90 ha) | 398 acres (161 ha) |
| 2003 | 159 acres (64 ha) | 137 acres (56 ha) | 297 acres (120 ha) |
| 2004 | 356 acres (144 ha) | 334 acres (135 ha) | 689 acres (279 ha) |
| 2005 | 255 acres (103 ha) | 264 acres (107 ha) | 519 acres (210 ha) |
| 2006 | 403 acres (163 ha) | 267 acres (108 ha) | 670 acres (271 ha) |
| 2007 | 457 acres (185 ha) | 299 acres (121 ha) | 756 acres (306 ha) |
| 2008 | 341 acres (138 ha) | 321 acres (130 ha) | 662 acres (268 ha) |
| 2009 | 348 acres (141 ha) | 250 acres (101 ha) | 598 acres (242 ha) |
| 2010 | 356 acres (144 ha) | 309 acres (125 ha) | 665 acres (269 ha) |
| 2011 | 519 acres (210 ha) | 400 acres (162 ha) | 919 acres (372 ha) |
| 2012 | 855 acres (346 ha) | 680 acres (275 ha) | 1,530 acres (621 ha) |
| 2013 | 1,370 acres (554 ha) | 1,040 acres (422 ha) | 2,410 acres (976 ha) |
| 2014 | 1,230 acres (498 ha) | 1,320 acres (534 ha) | 2,550 acres (1,030 ha) |
| 2015 | 563 acres (228 ha) | 153 acres (62 ha) | 717 acres (290 ha) |
| 2016 | 922 acres (373 ha) | 250 acres (101 ha) | 1,170 acres (474 ha) |
| 2017 | 1,790 acres (724 ha) | 474 acres (192 ha) | 2,260 acres (916 ha) |
| 2018 | 1,870 acres (757 ha) | 791 acres (320 ha) | 2,660 acres (1,080 ha) |
| 2019 | 872 acres (353 ha) | 766 acres (310 ha) | 1,640 acres (663 ha) |
| 2020 | 1,560 acres (630 ha) | 3,330 acres (1,350 ha) | 4,890 acres (1,980 ha) |
| 2021 | 907 acres (367 ha) | 633 acres (256 ha) | 1,540 acres (623 ha) |
| 2022 | 1,210 acres (491 ha) | 867 acres (351 ha) | 2,080 acres (842 ha) |
| 2023 | 1,270 acres (515 ha) | 704 acres (285 ha) | 1,980 acres (800 ha) |
| 2024 | 1,640 acres (665 ha) | 1,010 acres (407 ha) | 2,650 acres (1,070 ha) |
| 2025 | 442 acres (179 ha) | 1,430 acres (578 ha) | 1,870 acres (757 ha) |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 2,020 acres (819 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 2,520 acres (1,020 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2020, when about 4,890 acres (1,980 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Iowa?
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good41% · 14,800 acres (6,010 ha)
- Loggingcan grow back22% · 8,170 acres (3,310 ha)
- Towns and roadscleared for good12% · 4,480 acres (1,820 ha)
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, mining and energy, wildfires, unknown causes.
Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.
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. How it's measured
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