Florida’s air-quality picture is tracked through a statewide monitoring network, with ozone and fine particulate matter driving the Air Quality Index most often. The figures below combine network measurements and historical regulatory records from the EPA Florida 5-Year Air Monitoring Assessment and the EPA Green Book Florida status page. The dates matter: the network figures describe conditions as of June 30, 2015, while the Green Book record was current as of March 31, 2026 and includes designations from earlier years.
Contents
- Florida monitoring network at a glance
- Pollutants and monitor requirements
- Population covered by the network
- Florida population centers in the assessment
- Ozone standards and historical designations
- Lead and sulfur dioxide designations
Florida monitoring network at a glance
The EPA Florida 5-Year Air Monitoring Assessment reported 102 air-monitoring sites and 224 monitors in Florida as of June 30, 2015. Together, those sites covered more than 91% of the state’s more than 19,800,000 residents. The assessment also identified Florida as the third most populous state in the United States.
The network had two main goals. First, it was intended to verify compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Second, it was intended to provide consistent air-quality information to the public. These are related but distinct purposes: one supports regulatory determinations, while the other supports public access to air-quality information.
Ozone and PM2.5 drove the Air Quality Index more than 97% of the time in the assessment. Ozone refers to ground-level ozone, while PM2.5 refers to fine particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less. The 97% figure is a statement about which pollutants most often determined the index during the assessment period; it is not a claim that every location had the same daily result.
Pollutants and monitor requirements
The assessment compared monitor requirements with the number operating in several parts of Florida’s network. The figures below are counts of monitors, not concentrations and not days above a standard.
| Network component | Required monitors | Operating monitors |
|---|---|---|
| Continuous PM2.5 | 13 | 36 |
| General PM2.5 ambient monitoring | 15 | 25 |
| Ozone | 21 | 58 |
| PM10 | 13 | 24 |
| NCore | 2 | 3 |
The continuous PM2.5 network requirement was 13 monitors, with 36 operating. The general PM2.5 ambient monitoring requirement was 15, with 25 operating. For ozone, the requirement was 21 monitors and 58 were operating. The PM10 requirement was 13 monitors and 24 were operating. NCore had a requirement of 2 monitors and 3 operating. All five comparisons come from the EPA Florida 5-Year Air Monitoring Assessment and describe the network as of June 30, 2015.
These counts should be read as infrastructure statistics. They show the scale of the monitoring system and the relationship between requirements and operating monitors, but they do not establish that air quality was better or worse in a particular county. A monitor count also cannot be converted into a statewide pollution average without concentration data and a defined averaging period.
Population covered by the network
The assessment’s coverage figure was more than 91% of more than 19.8 million Florida residents. Because both population expressions are rounded or open-ended—“more than 91%” and “more than 19,800,000”—the record does not support a precise population total covered by the network. It does support the conclusion that the network reached most of the state’s population at the stated time.
The assessment also listed population estimates for major metropolitan areas and counties. Those estimates are from 2014, so they should not be treated as current population counts or as 2015 measurements. They provide geographic context for the monitoring assessment rather than a direct measure of pollution exposure.
Florida population centers in the assessment
The largest listed metropolitan estimate was Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, with 5,929,819 people in 2014. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater was listed at 2,915,582, and Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford at 2,321,418. Jacksonville was listed at 1,419,127.
The assessment listed Broward County at 1,869,235, Miami-Dade County at 2,662,874, and Palm Beach County at 1,869,235. Hillsborough County was listed at 1,316,298, Pasco County at 485,331, and Pinellas County at 938,098. The repeated value for Broward and Palm Beach is retained as reported by the EPA Florida 5-Year Air Monitoring Assessment; it is not independently corrected here.
Other metropolitan estimates in the assessment were North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, 748,708; Lakeland, 634,638; Cape Coral-Fort Myers, 679,513; Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, 609,939; Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, 556,885; Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, 474,081; and Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce, 444,420.
Additional estimates were Tallahassee, 375,751; Naples-Marco Island, 348,777; Ocala, 339,167; Gainesville, 273,377; Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, 258,042; Panama City-Lynn Haven, 194,929; Punta Gorda in Charlotte County, 168,474; Sebastian-Vero Beach, 144,755; Homosassa Springs in Citrus County, 139,377; The Villages in Sumter County, 139,377; Sebring in Highlands County, 98,236; Palatka in Putnam County, 72,143; and Lake City in Columbia County, 67,857.
These figures describe 2014 population estimates attached to the assessment. They do not indicate that each place had a dedicated monitor, nor do they show a local Air Quality Index value. The statewide network coverage statistic and the location estimates answer different questions: one describes the share of residents reached by the network, while the others describe the size of selected population centers.
Ozone standards and historical designations
The EPA Green Book Florida status page records several historical ozone actions. Florida’s 8-hour ozone standard was revoked on April 6, 2015. Florida’s 1-hour ozone standard was revoked on June 15, 2005. These are regulatory-history dates, not dates of daily air-quality observations.
The same Green Book record lists the 1997 primary annual PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards level as 15 micrograms per cubic meter. It states that this level is revoked in attainment and maintenance areas. The Green Book data were current as of March 31, 2026, but the individual designations below were made in earlier years.
For the 1-hour ozone standard, Broward County’s whole-county nonattainment area was redesignated to Moderate on April 25, 1995, with a listed population of 1,748,066. Duval County’s whole-county area was redesignated to Section 185A on March 6, 1995, with a listed population of 864,263. Hillsborough County’s whole-county area was redesignated to Marginal on February 5, 1996, with a listed population of 1,229,226.
Miami-Dade County’s whole-county 1-hour ozone nonattainment area was redesignated to Moderate on April 25, 1995, with a listed population of 2,496,435. Palm Beach County’s whole-county area received the same Moderate redesignation on April 25, 1995, with a listed population of 1,320,134. Pinellas County’s whole-county area was redesignated to Marginal on February 5, 1996, with a listed population of 916,542.
| County | Standard or pollutant | Area | Redesignation | Date | Listed population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broward | 1-hour ozone | Whole county | Moderate | Apr. 25, 1995 | 1,748,066 |
| Duval | 1-hour ozone | Whole county | Section 185A | Mar. 6, 1995 | 864,263 |
| Hillsborough | 1-hour ozone | Whole county | Marginal | Feb. 5, 1996 | 1,229,226 |
| Miami-Dade | 1-hour ozone | Whole county | Moderate | Apr. 25, 1995 | 2,496,435 |
| Palm Beach | 1-hour ozone | Whole county | Moderate | Apr. 25, 1995 | 1,320,134 |
| Pinellas | 1-hour ozone | Whole county | Marginal | Feb. 5, 1996 | 916,542 |
The populations in this table belong to the historical Green Book designations. They are not interchangeable with the 2014 population estimates in the air-monitoring assessment, even where the county names overlap.
Lead and sulfur dioxide designations
The Green Book Florida status page also records historical nonattainment designations for lead and sulfur dioxide. Hillsborough County’s 2008 lead nonattainment area was partial county, with a listed population of 4,128. Its redesignation date was October 11, 2018.
For 2010 sulfur dioxide designations, Hillsborough County had a partial-county area with a listed population of 17,477 and a redesignation date of December 12, 2019. Hillsborough-Polk County had a partial-county area with a listed population of 2,054 and a redesignation date of March 23, 2020.
Nassau County’s 2010 sulfur dioxide nonattainment area was partial county, with a listed population of 6,217 and a redesignation date of May 24, 2019. Polk County’s 2010 sulfur dioxide area was also partial county, with a listed population of 137 and a redesignation date of March 23, 2020.
These entries identify the pollutant, designation year, geographic scope, listed population, and later redesignation date. They do not provide current sulfur dioxide or lead concentrations. Taken alongside the ozone records, they show that Florida’s regulatory history includes multiple pollutants and both whole-county and partial-county areas, while the statewide monitoring assessment shows how the network was structured as of June 30, 2015.