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Radon Levels in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama

EPA puts Tuscaloosa County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and most reported tests there come back low, though 8.5% of 82 (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) reached 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.

Data checked By Radon411Methodology

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  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    8.5%

    13.4 pts below AL

    Tuscaloosa
    8.5%
    Alabama
    21.9%

    82 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    1.4pCi/L

    Below action level

    Tuscaloosa
    1.4 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Tests reported

    82

    16th of 27 by tests

    Tuscaloosa
    82
    Madison
    5,178

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Alabama

    25 of 27

    Lowest quarter

    Tuscaloosa
    8.5%
    Colbert
    36.2%

    By share, of 27 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Tuscaloosa County

Starts at Tuscaloosa County's median, 1.4 pCi/L

1.4pCi/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

  1. Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
  2. 2 to 4consider a fix
  3. 4 and aboveEPA says fix it

This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Tuscaloosa County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this reading

The data

Tuscaloosa County, At a glance

Tuscaloosa County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Tuscaloosa County is a county: EPA's forecast for it as a whole is an average indoor of 2 to 4 pCi/L (75 to 150 Bq/m³). It describes no single address, and homes above EPA's are found in every zone, this one included.

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 Tuscaloosa County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory

Reported results by concentration band, Tuscaloosa County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 70%2 to 4 pCi/L: 22%4 pCi/L and above: 8%

Of 82 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.

Reported results by concentration band, Tuscaloosa County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory: data table
Result bandTests MeasuredShare Measured
Under 2 pCi/L5769.5%
2 to 4 pCi/L1822.0%
4 pCi/L and above78.5%
What these figures count

These are the 82 tests reported to CDC for Tuscaloosa 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).

How to read these figures

Tuscaloosa County, Compared

Tuscaloosa County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

Tuscaloosa County reports fewer high tests than Alabama overall. 8.5% of its 82 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals were at or above 4 pCi/L. That is 13.4 points below the 21.9% pooled from 65 Alabama counties.

Ordered from highest share down, it comes 25th of 27 Alabama counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Tuscaloosa County sits 27.2 points below it.

Jefferson County, the one bordering county with a figure for the same period, reported 10.7%. The reported tests do not follow EPA's Zone 2 label for Tuscaloosa County (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L): 8.5% of them reached 4 pCi/L, fewer than that label suggests.

Half the tests came in under 1.4 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 27.0 pCi/L. The rest split 69.5% under 2 pCi/L and 22.0% from 2 to 4 (Alabama: 54.3% and 23.8%).

CDC's ten-year totals for Tuscaloosa County went from 55 tests (2005 to 2014) to 82 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 9.1% to 8.5%.

Tuscaloosa County against Alabama, the United States and nearby counties, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Tuscaloosa County
Tuscaloosa County828.5%1.4 pCi/LThis county
Alabama, pooled65 counties, pooled12,56921.9%Not pooled+13.4 points
United States, pooled2,661 counties, pooled2,013,54435.7%Not pooled+27.2 points
Colbert Countyhighest in the state87136.2%2.7 pCi/L+27.7 points
Baldwin Countylowest in the state310.0%1.0 pCi/L−8.5 points
Hale County, ALborders it1050.0%3.9 pCi/L+41.5 points
Walker County, ALborders it1533.3%1.4 pCi/L+24.8 points
Bibb County, ALborders it425.0%2.5 pCi/L+16.5 points
Jefferson County, ALborders it91210.7%1.2 pCi/L+2.2 points
Fayette County, ALborders it20.0%1.1 pCi/L−8.5 points
Greene County, ALborders it10.0%0.2 pCi/L−8.5 points
Pickens County, ALborders it20.0%0.9 pCi/L−8.5 points
Where Tuscaloosa County's reported results fell, 2008 to 2017, laboratory, beside Alabama and the United States
ResultTuscaloosa County testsTuscaloosa County shareAlabama shareU.S. shareAgainst Alabama
Under 2 pCi/L5769.5%54.3%39.6%+15.2 points
2 to 4 pCi/L1822.0%23.8%24.7%−1.8 points
4 pCi/L and above78.5%21.9%35.7%−13.4 points
Tuscaloosa County ranked among the 27 Alabama counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Blount County17 of 274413.6%2.0 pCi/L
DeKalb County18 of 276813.2%0.9 pCi/L
Lee County19 of 278112.3%1.3 pCi/L
Cullman County20 of 277911.4%1.5 pCi/L
Shelby County21 of 2737311.3%1.3 pCi/L
Jefferson County22 of 2791210.7%1.2 pCi/L
Limestone County23 of 2767410.1%1.3 pCi/L
Montgomery County24 of 271039.7%0.9 pCi/L
Tuscaloosa County25 of 27828.5%1.4 pCi/L
Mobile County26 of 27523.8%0.5 pCi/L
Baldwin County27 of 27310.0%1.0 pCi/L
Tuscaloosa County ten-year laboratory totals, against Alabama's pooled share
PeriodTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestAlabama, pooledChange from the row before
2008 to 2017828.5%1.4 pCi/L27.0 pCi/L21.9%+0.2 points
2007 to 2016728.3%1.3 pCi/L27.0 pCi/L22.0%−1.8 points
2006 to 20156910.1%1.1 pCi/L27.0 pCi/L22.0%+1.0 points
2005 to 2014559.1%1.1 pCi/L22.0 pCi/L22.4%First on file

Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.

Tuscaloosa County, Geology

The ground under Tuscaloosa County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Tuscaloosa County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. The map puts 47.5% of Tuscaloosa County in the area it calls Inner Coastal Plain and 47.4% in Appalachian Plateau, with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 10 and the second 9, both in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Tuscaloosa County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Inner Coastal PlainMarly sandy clay, chalk, and glauconitic sands.Moderate1047.5%
Appalachian PlateauLimestone, sandstone, carbonaceous shale, coalModerate947.4%
Valley and RidgeChattanooga black shale, Cambrian-Ordovician limestone and sandstone.Moderate95.1%

Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.

Tuscaloosa County beside the ground around it

Across Alabama 14.3% of the land is rated high; none of Tuscaloosa County's is. Of the 7 counties that border it, none has as large a share of moderate-potential ground; Greene County comes nearest at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Tuscaloosa County, the 7 counties bordering it and Alabama
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Tuscaloosa CountyZone 2None100%None
Bibb CountyZone 2None100%None
Walker CountyZone 2None100%None
Pickens CountyZone 20.2%99.8%None
Fayette CountyZone 2None100%None
Jefferson CountyZone 2None100%None
Hale CountyZone 2None100%None
Greene CountyZone 2None100%None
Alabama67 counties, pooled by land areaVaries35.2%50.4%14.3%

The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.

Local help

Tuscaloosa County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Tuscaloosa County

What Alabama's program says
Phone
(334) 290-6244

What it means

Tuscaloosa County, Questions

Questions about radon in Tuscaloosa County

Are radon levels high in Tuscaloosa County?

Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 8.5% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Tuscaloosa 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, 24 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 21.9%.

Which counties border Tuscaloosa County?

Tuscaloosa County borders 7 counties: Bibb County, Walker County, Pickens County, Fayette County, Jefferson County, Hale County and Greene County.

Products

Tuscaloosa County, Products

Testing a home in Tuscaloosa County

In Tuscaloosa County, 8.5% of 82 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 Tuscaloosa County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

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Best radon monitors for Tuscaloosa County homes, compared

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Tuscaloosa County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Tuscaloosa County

Calculated by Radon411

Tuscaloosa County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Tuscaloosa County

The Census Bureau estimates 241,368 residents in Tuscaloosa County for July 1, 2025, 8,764 more than in 2020 (+3.8%). That works out to 183 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Tuscaloosa, has 114,316 residents, 47.4% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 82 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.3 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Alabama as a whole comes to 2.4.

From Tuscaloosa to Coker, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Tuscaloosa County's.

The cities and towns in Tuscaloosa County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Tuscaloosa114,316+8.3%47.4%
Northport31,648+1.4%13.1%
Lake Viewextends beyond Tuscaloosa County3,969+11.6%Counted whole
Moundvilleextends beyond Tuscaloosa County3,628+19.0%Counted whole
Brookwood2,467−1.1%1.0%
Vanceextends beyond Tuscaloosa County2,332+9.4%Counted whole
Coaling2,003−1.5%0.8%
Woodstockextends beyond Tuscaloosa County1,653+10.2%Counted whole
Coker883−1.5%0.4%

9 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 Tuscaloosa County is counted whole, so it has no share.

Tuscaloosa County, Homes

Homes in Tuscaloosa County

Of Tuscaloosa County's 102,935 homes, 61% are detached houses, against 69% across Alabama; 23% are in buildings of five or more homes. Half of its homes were built before 1992, close to Alabama's 1985: 11% date from before 1960 and 37% from 2000 or later. 62% 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 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, 2019 to 2023
HomesTuscaloosa CountyAlabama
Housing units102,9352,316,192
Detached houses61%69%
In buildings of 5 or more23%12%
Mobile homes9%13%
Built before 196011%16%
Built since 200037%27%
Middle year built19921985
Owner-occupied62%70%

Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.