Short-term kitempowerDX
Standard Radon Test short-term mail-in radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Passive sampler
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Etowah County, Alabama
EPA puts Etowah County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 19.6% of its 56 reported radon tests (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) were at or above 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
19.6%
2.3 pts below AL
- Etowah
- 19.6%
- Alabama
- 21.9%
56 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.4pCi/L
Below action level
- Etowah
- 1.4 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
56
21st of 27 by tests
- Etowah
- 56
- Madison
- 5,178
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Alabama
5 of 27
Top quarter
- Etowah
- 19.6%
- Colbert
- 36.2%
By share, of 27 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Etowah County
Starts at Etowah County's median, 1.4 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.4 pCi/L
Below 2 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Etowah County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Etowah County, At a glance
Etowah County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Etowah County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Etowah County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 61%2 to 4 pCi/L: 20%4 pCi/L and above: 19%
Of 56 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 34 | 60.7% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 11 | 19.6% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 11 | 19.6% |
What these figures count
These are the 56 tests reported to CDC for Etowah County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), many from homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: they describe the county's reported tests, not this house.
Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Etowah County, Compared
Etowah County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Etowah County's 56 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 1.4 pCi/L and a maximum of 48.1 pCi/L, and 19.6% reached 4 pCi/L. Alabama as a whole (65 Alabama counties, pooled) comes to 21.9%: 2.3 points higher than here.
Among its state's counties it ranks 5th of 27 Alabama counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Colbert County reported the highest share (36.2%) and Baldwin County the lowest (0.0%).
Below the action level, 34 tests (60.7%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 54.3% statewide, and 11 tests (19.6%) fell between 2 and 4, against 23.8% statewide. CDC's ten-year totals for Etowah County went from 57 tests (2005 to 2014) to 56 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 15.8% to 19.6%.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Etowah County in Zone 2, a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Next door, the shares run from 13.2% in DeKalb County to 18.9% in Calhoun County, with Calhoun County, Marshall County and St. Clair County below Etowah County.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Etowah County, Geology
The ground under Etowah County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Etowah County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. 95.3% of it lies in the area the map calls Valley and Ridge, to which USGS gives a radon index of 9, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley and Ridge | Chattanooga black shale, Cambrian-Ordovician limestone and sandstone. | Moderate | 9 | 95.3% |
| Appalachian Plateau | Limestone, sandstone, carbonaceous shale, coal | Moderate | 9 | 4.7% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Etowah County beside the ground around it
Across Alabama 14.3% of the land is rated high; none of Etowah County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, 4 have more high-potential ground, Marshall County the most at 43.8%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Etowah County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Etowah County
- Alabama Radon ProgramAlabama Radon Program, run by Alabama Department of Public Health, answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Alabama.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsAsk the program whether it has free or discounted kits, or compare kits you can buy.
- Compare kits
- See the Alabama directoryNo professionals are listed in Alabama yet. The state program can point you to registered testers and mitigators.
What Alabama's program says
- Phone
- (334) 290-6244
What it means
Etowah County, Questions
Questions about radon in Etowah County
Are radon levels high in Etowah County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 19.6% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Etowah County, Alabama were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.4 pCi/L. Of 27 Alabama counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 4 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 21.9%.
Which counties border Etowah County?
Etowah County borders 6 counties: Calhoun County, Cherokee County, St. Clair County, Blount County, Marshall County and DeKalb County.
Products
Etowah County, Products
Testing a home in Etowah County
In Etowah County, 19.6% of 56 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 21.9% pooled across Alabama. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Etowah County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL416 long-term radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Monitor
Corentium Home 2 battery digital radon monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- Screen, app
Method: Alpha spectrometry
Readings: Every 60 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Etowah County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Etowah County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Calhoun CountyEPA zone 1
18.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.4 pCi/L · 238 tests · 0.7 points below Etowah County
- Radon levels in Marshall CountyEPA zone 2
15.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.3 pCi/L · 199 tests · 4.5 points below Etowah County
- Radon levels in St. Clair CountyEPA zone 2
14.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.2 pCi/L · 93 tests · 5.6 points below Etowah County
- Radon levels in Blount CountyEPA zone 2
13.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.0 pCi/L · 44 tests · 6.0 points below Etowah County
- Radon levels in DeKalb CountyEPA zone 2
13.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.9 pCi/L · 68 tests · 6.4 points below Etowah County
- Radon levels in Cherokee CountyEPA zone 2
10.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 10 tests · 9.6 points below Etowah County
Etowah County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Etowah County
Etowah County's population has barely moved since 2020: 103,886 residents on July 1, 2025 against 103,441 then, by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 194 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Gadsden, has 33,367 residents, 32.1% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 56 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.5 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Alabama as a whole comes to 2.4.
From Gadsden to Ridgeville, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Etowah County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gadsden | 33,367 | −1.5% | 32.1% |
| Boazextends beyond Etowah County | 10,619 | +5.0% | Counted whole |
| Rainbow City | 10,406 | +1.9% | 10.0% |
| Southsideextends beyond Etowah County | 9,718 | +2.6% | Counted whole |
| Attalla | 5,807 | −0.6% | 5.6% |
| Glencoeextends beyond Etowah County | 5,426 | +0.8% | Counted whole |
| Hokes Bluff | 4,706 | +6.1% | 4.5% |
| Sardis Cityextends beyond Etowah County | 1,787 | −1.7% | Counted whole |
| Altoonaextends beyond Etowah County | 948 | Level | Counted whole |
| Walnut Grove | 788 | +1.7% | 0.8% |
| Reece City | 619 | +0.2% | 0.6% |
| Ridgeville | 83 | −1.2% | Under 0.1% |
12 incorporated places, as listed in the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 place reference files. Residents: U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for July 1, 2025 (Vintage 2025). A place that extends beyond Etowah County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Etowah County, Homes
Homes in Etowah County
Etowah County is a place of houses on their own lots: 78% of its 47,487 homes are detached single-family houses, against 69% across Alabama. The homes are older than Alabama's as a whole: half were built before 1975 (1985 for Alabama), and 29% date from before 1960. 74% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Alabama: 70%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Etowah County | Alabama |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 47,487 | 2,316,192 |
| Detached houses | 78% | 69% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 7% | 12% |
| Mobile homes | 11% | 13% |
| Built before 1960 | 29% | 16% |
| Built since 2000 | 17% | 27% |
| Middle year built | 1975 | 1985 |
| Owner-occupied | 74% | 70% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.