City report · Washington, United States
Tacoma Air quality today
Air quality in Tacoma currently reads AQI 38 (Good): Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Air quality right now
AQI 38
Good
- PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
- 6.8
- tree cover
- 19.4%
- trees in this area
- 53.9K
- more trees needed
- 29.5K
Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around New Tacoma, Tacoma, WA, USA (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Sep 8, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.
Tacoma · AQI 38 (Good)
Tacoma's tree count comes to 53,938 trees across 4.3 sq mi (11.12 km²) of land, 11 points below the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area, so roughly 29,471 more trees would close the gap.
Air quality detail
Air quality in Tacoma today: AQI 38, Good
Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 07:00 local time via OpenAQ ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.
Ground station · Tacoma WA USA, 1.2 mi (2 km) away · median of 4 stations
Health signal
Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
PM2.5
6.8
PM10
—
NO₂
—
O₃
—
SO₂
—
CO
—
Data: OpenAQ · AirGradient, mrdrew, Thomas Clark, Proctor Pride
- 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 Tacoma's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 16 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 86 on Nov 9.
Where Tacoma stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest
Tree cover detail
Tree cover in Tacoma: Below target
19.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.3 sq mi (11.12 km²) of land.
Trees in this area
53,938
Target trees
83,409
More trees needed
29,471
CO₂ if planted / yr
648.4 t
Deforestation · 2001–2025
How much forest has Tacoma lost?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tacoma has lost about 1,210 acres (489 hectares) of forest (about 910 football fields): 8.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads.
2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area about 7 km east of the city center.
- Forest lost since 2001
- 1,210 acres (489 ha)about 910 football fields
- Share of its forest
- 8.1%of what there was in 2000
- Cleared for good
- 1,180 acres (479 ha)deforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns
The worst year was 2006, when about 124 acres (50 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 | 40 acres (16 ha) | under 1 ha | 41 acres (17 ha) |
| 2002 | 27 acres (11 ha) | under 1 ha | 29 acres (12 ha) |
| 2003 | 100 acres (41 ha) | under 1 ha | 101 acres (41 ha) |
| 2004 | 63 acres (26 ha) | under 1 ha | 64 acres (26 ha) |
| 2005 | 88 acres (36 ha) | 4 acres (2 ha) | 92 acres (37 ha) |
| 2006 | 123 acres (50 ha) | under 1 ha | 124 acres (50 ha) |
| 2007 | 75 acres (31 ha) | under 1 ha | 76 acres (31 ha) |
| 2008 | 40 acres (16 ha) | under 1 ha | 41 acres (17 ha) |
| 2009 | 39 acres (16 ha) | under 1 ha | 41 acres (16 ha) |
| 2010 | 7 acres (3 ha) | under 1 ha | 8 acres (3 ha) |
| 2011 | 11 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 12 acres (5 ha) |
| 2012 | 17 acres (7 ha) | under 1 ha | 17 acres (7 ha) |
| 2013 | 9 acres (4 ha) | under 1 ha | 9 acres (4 ha) |
| 2014 | 22 acres (9 ha) | under 1 ha | 23 acres (9 ha) |
| 2015 | 76 acres (31 ha) | under 1 ha | 78 acres (31 ha) |
| 2016 | 34 acres (14 ha) | under 1 ha | 35 acres (14 ha) |
| 2017 | 74 acres (30 ha) | under 1 ha | 75 acres (30 ha) |
| 2018 | 66 acres (27 ha) | under 1 ha | 67 acres (27 ha) |
| 2019 | 36 acres (15 ha) | under 1 ha | 37 acres (15 ha) |
| 2020 | 29 acres (12 ha) | under 1 ha | 30 acres (12 ha) |
| 2021 | 47 acres (19 ha) | under 1 ha | 47 acres (19 ha) |
| 2022 | 70 acres (28 ha) | under 1 ha | 70 acres (29 ha) |
| 2023 | 43 acres (17 ha) | under 1 ha | 43 acres (17 ha) |
| 2024 | 20 acres (8 ha) | under 1 ha | 21 acres (8 ha) |
| 2025 | 26 acres (10 ha) | 3 acres (1 ha) | 29 acres (12 ha) |
What is causing deforestation around Tacoma?
- Towns and roadscleared for good98% · 1,180 acres (479 ha)
- Unknown causescause unknown2.1% · 26 acres (11 ha)
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
- 30,500 acres (12,400 ha)
- Forest in 2020
- 30,600 acres (12,400 ha)
- Overall change
- +77 acres (31 ha)more forest than in 2000
Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tacoma stayed about the same size, at about 30,600 acres (12,400 hectares): new forest grew on about 877 acres (355 hectares), and about 801 acres (324 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 Tacoma
Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.
- Kent21.3 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 21
- Renton30.8 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 32%
- Air quality
- 27
- Seattle40.2 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 14%
- Air quality
- 27
- Bellevue43.8 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 49%
- Air quality
- 6
- Everett82.8 km
United States
- Tree cover
- 23%
- Air quality
- 22
- Victoria147.9 km
Canada
- Tree cover
- 36%
- Air quality
- 36
Build your own
Compare Tacoma with anywhere
This place
Tacoma
Use this data
Put Tacoma's numbers on your site
Free to embed. Updates itself as the measurement refreshes.
Frequently asked
Questions about Tacoma
What is the air quality (AQI) in Tacoma right now?
The latest reading for Tacoma shows an AQI of 38 (Good), measured Nov 11, 07:00 local time by 4 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Tacoma WA USA, 1.2 mi (2 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Air quality is satisfactory for everyone.
Is it safe to exercise outside in Tacoma today?
At AQI 38 (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 Tacoma been like this week?
Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Tacoma's daily AQI at 47 on average, from 16 on Nov 10 to an hourly peak of 86 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 Tacoma lost since 2001?
Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Tacoma has lost about 1,210 acres (489 hectares) of forest (about 910 football fields): 8.1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it (98%) was deforestation, forest cleared for good, mainly for towns and roads. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Tacoma stayed about the same size, at about 30,600 acres (12,400 hectares): new forest grew on about 877 acres (355 hectares), and about 801 acres (324 hectares) were lost.
What is the tree count in Tacoma?
Tacoma has an estimated 53,938 trees across the 4.3 sq mi (11.12 km²) of land measured — 19.4% tree cover, 11 percentage points short of the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.
How many more trees does Tacoma need?
Tacoma needs roughly 29,471 more trees to close a 11-point shortfall against its 30% tree-cover target — about 648.4 t of extra CO₂ absorbed per year once grown.
How are Tacoma's air quality and tree cover measured?
Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near New Tacoma, 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 New Tacoma; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.
See your own area
What does your neighborhood look like?
Pick any point and radius to get the same air-quality and tree-cover breakdown.
Check my address