United States · Minnesota · 3 places
Air quality in Minnesota today The AQI right now, city by city
Right now, Saint Paul has the cleanest air of the 3 Minnesota cities we track (AQI 25, Good), and Rochester the worst (AQI 36, Good). Rochester has the most tree cover, at 41.5% — #32 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 31
Good
- places tracked
- 3
- average tree cover
- 29.2%
- US cities: 25.1%
- worst air now: Rochester
- 36
- cleanest air now: Saint Paul
- 25
Lower is better on the US EPA index: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous. Measured by Airleaf, refreshed hourly.
Minnesota · average AQI 31
Air quality today across Minnesota, city by city
| Minneapolis | 31Good | 19.2% | 32.2K | #166 of 278 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Paul | 25Good | 27.0% | 8.9K | #119 of 278 |
| Rochester | 36Good | 41.5% | — | #32 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 Minnesota lost?
Since 2001, Minnesota has lost about 2.01 million acres (814,000 hectares) of forest (about 8,100 km²): 10% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 87,200 acres (35,300 hectares) (4.3%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 2.01 million acres (814,000 ha)about 8,100 km²
- Share of its forest
- 10%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 87,200 acres (35,300 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 | 3,420 acres (1,390 ha) | 70,400 acres (28,500 ha) | 73,800 acres (29,900 ha) |
| 2002 | 2,860 acres (1,160 ha) | 56,200 acres (22,700 ha) | 59,100 acres (23,900 ha) |
| 2003 | 2,080 acres (840 ha) | 40,400 acres (16,300 ha) | 42,500 acres (17,200 ha) |
| 2004 | 4,080 acres (1,650 ha) | 74,200 acres (30,000 ha) | 78,300 acres (31,700 ha) |
| 2005 | 3,580 acres (1,450 ha) | 71,500 acres (28,900 ha) | 75,100 acres (30,400 ha) |
| 2006 | 4,500 acres (1,820 ha) | 85,600 acres (34,700 ha) | 90,100 acres (36,500 ha) |
| 2007 | 3,770 acres (1,530 ha) | 93,500 acres (37,800 ha) | 97,300 acres (39,400 ha) |
| 2008 | 3,730 acres (1,510 ha) | 89,500 acres (36,200 ha) | 93,200 acres (37,700 ha) |
| 2009 | 2,350 acres (953 ha) | 57,200 acres (23,200 ha) | 59,600 acres (24,100 ha) |
| 2010 | 2,850 acres (1,160 ha) | 66,700 acres (27,000 ha) | 69,600 acres (28,200 ha) |
| 2011 | 2,910 acres (1,180 ha) | 74,700 acres (30,200 ha) | 77,600 acres (31,400 ha) |
| 2012 | 5,370 acres (2,180 ha) | 141,000 acres (57,000 ha) | 146,000 acres (59,200 ha) |
| 2013 | 3,000 acres (1,220 ha) | 58,200 acres (23,500 ha) | 61,200 acres (24,700 ha) |
| 2014 | 4,290 acres (1,740 ha) | 73,600 acres (29,800 ha) | 77,900 acres (31,500 ha) |
| 2015 | 3,420 acres (1,380 ha) | 79,500 acres (32,200 ha) | 82,900 acres (33,600 ha) |
| 2016 | 3,730 acres (1,510 ha) | 82,200 acres (33,300 ha) | 86,000 acres (34,800 ha) |
| 2017 | 4,490 acres (1,820 ha) | 90,900 acres (36,800 ha) | 95,400 acres (38,600 ha) |
| 2018 | 4,730 acres (1,920 ha) | 85,300 acres (34,500 ha) | 90,000 acres (36,400 ha) |
| 2019 | 3,520 acres (1,420 ha) | 87,300 acres (35,300 ha) | 90,800 acres (36,700 ha) |
| 2020 | 3,030 acres (1,230 ha) | 71,900 acres (29,100 ha) | 75,000 acres (30,300 ha) |
| 2021 | 2,880 acres (1,170 ha) | 85,100 acres (34,400 ha) | 88,000 acres (35,600 ha) |
| 2022 | 3,600 acres (1,460 ha) | 88,800 acres (35,900 ha) | 92,400 acres (37,400 ha) |
| 2023 | 2,650 acres (1,070 ha) | 62,100 acres (25,100 ha) | 64,700 acres (26,200 ha) |
| 2024 | 3,340 acres (1,350 ha) | 64,500 acres (26,100 ha) | 67,800 acres (27,400 ha) |
| 2025 | 3,020 acres (1,220 ha) | 73,500 acres (29,800 ha) | 76,600 acres (31,000 ha) |
Forest loss has stayed about the same: about 77,900 acres (31,500 hectares) a year in 2021–2025, against 87,400 acres (35,400 hectares) a year in 2016–2020. The worst year was 2012, when about 146,000 acres (59,200 hectares) of forest were lost.
What is causing deforestation in Minnesota?
- Loggingcan grow back86% · 1.73 million acres (700,000 ha)
- Wildfirescan grow back6.8% · 137,000 acres (55,400 ha)
- Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.3% · 47,000 acres (19,000 ha)
Also: storms, floods and other natural causes, towns and roads, mining and energy, 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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