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Radon Levels in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska

EPA puts Matanuska-Susitna Borough in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and most reported tests there come back low, though 14.3% of 42 (2022) reached 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.

Data checked By Radon411Methodology

How to test this homeFind a certified tester

  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    14.3%

    2.8 pts above AK

    Matanuska-Susitna Borough
    14.3%
    Alaska
    11.5%

    42 tests, 2022

  • Median result

    1.1pCi/L

    Below action level

    Matanuska-Susitna Borough
    1.1 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2022

  • Tests reported

    42

    3rd of 3 by tests

    Matanuska-Susitna Borough
    42
    Anchorage Municipality
    130

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2022

  • 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 Alaska

    2 of 3

    Middle half

    Matanuska-Susitna Borough
    14.3%
    Fairbanks North Star Borough
    19.4%

    By share, of 3 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Starts at Matanuska-Susitna Borough's median, 1.1 pCi/L

1.1pCi/L

EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.

EPA’s reading of 1.1 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. Matanuska-Susitna Borough's median reported result, 2022.

Interpret this reading

The data

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, At a glance

Matanuska-Susitna Borough at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Matanuska-Susitna Borough is a borough or census area: 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 94% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 2022

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Matanuska-Susitna Borough
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201444.4%
201530.0%
201637.5%
201712.5%
201850.0%
201920.0%
202021.8%
202121.1%
202214.3%

2022: 14.3%. Across these years the share ran from 12.5% to 50.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

These are the 42 tests reported to CDC for Matanuska-Susitna Borough over 2022, many from homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: they describe the borough or census area's reported tests, not this house.

Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2022. Measured data period: 2005 to 2022 (every CDC figure on file).

How to read these figures

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Compared

Matanuska-Susitna Borough radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

14.3% of its 42 tests in 2022 were at or above 4 pCi/L. That is 2.8 points above the 11.5% pooled from 19 Alaska counties.

Ordered from highest share down, it comes 2nd of 3 Alaska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 23.9%; Matanuska-Susitna Borough sits 9.6 points below it.

Anchorage Municipality, the one bordering county with a figure for the same period, reported 3.1%. Zone 2 on EPA's map (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L) and a 14.3% share point the same way here.

Half the tests came in under 1.1 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 6.8 pCi/L. The rest split 71.4% under 2 pCi/L and 14.3% from 2 to 4 (Alaska: 75.2% and 13.4%). Year by year, 2019 opened at 20.0% and 2022 closed at 14.3% (down 5.7 points), with 2020 the high at 21.8%.

The busiest year on file was 2020, with 110 tests reported; the quietest, 2018, had 4.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Matanuska-Susitna Borough against Alaska2019 to 2022, years with 30 or more tests: Matanuska-Susitna Borough 20.0% to 14.3%, the state's pooled share 11.5% in 2022.
Matanuska-Susitna BoroughAlaska, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Matanuska-Susitna Borough against Alaska: data table
YearTestsMatanuska-Susitna Borough, at or above 4 pCi/LAlaska, pooled
20193020.0%14.5%
202011021.8%15.9%
20213821.1%18.8%
20224214.3%11.5%
Matanuska-Susitna Borough against Alaska, the United States and nearby counties, 2022
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Matanuska-Susitna Borough4214.3%1.1 pCi/LThis county
Alaska, pooled19 counties, pooled31411.5%Not pooled−2.8 points
United States, pooled853 counties, pooled333,14023.9%Not pooled+9.6 points
Fairbanks North Star Boroughhighest in the state7219.4%1.4 pCi/L+5.1 points
Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, AKborders it1080.0%5.8 pCi/L+65.7 points
Denali Borough, AKborders it250.0%2.6 pCi/L+35.7 points
Kenai Peninsula Borough, AKborders it248.3%0.8 pCi/L−6.0 points
Anchorage Municipality, AKborders it1303.1%0.5 pCi/L−11.2 points
Where Matanuska-Susitna Borough's reported results fell, 2022, beside Alaska and the United States
ResultMatanuska-Susitna Borough testsMatanuska-Susitna Borough shareAlaska shareU.S. shareAgainst Alaska
Under 2 pCi/L3071.4%75.2%54.5%−3.8 points
2 to 4 pCi/L614.3%13.4%21.7%+0.9 points
4 pCi/L and above614.3%11.5%23.9%+2.8 points
Matanuska-Susitna Borough ranked among the 3 Alaska counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2022
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Fairbanks North Star Borough1 of 37219.4%1.4 pCi/L
Matanuska-Susitna Borough2 of 34214.3%1.1 pCi/L
Anchorage Municipality3 of 31303.1%0.5 pCi/L
Matanuska-Susitna Borough radon tests by year, against Alaska's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestAlaska, pooledChange from the row before
20224214.3%1.1 pCi/L6.8 pCi/L11.5%−6.8 points
20213821.1%1.7 pCi/L17.5 pCi/L18.8%−0.7 points
202011021.8%1.5 pCi/L23.0 pCi/L15.9%+1.8 points
20193020.0%1.4 pCi/L13.9 pCi/L14.5%−30.0 points
2018450.0%6.7 pCi/L11.1 pCi/L10.2%+37.5 points
2017812.5%2.8 pCi/L4.5 pCi/L29.5%−25.0 points
20161637.5%2.0 pCi/L40.6 pCi/L32.6%+7.5 points
20152030.0%2.1 pCi/L24.9 pCi/L27.1%−14.4 points
2014944.4%3.1 pCi/L8.1 pCi/L28.1%First on file

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

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Geology

The ground under Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Predicted

Most of the ground under Matanuska-Susitna Borough is one class on USGS's geologic map: 93.9% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 6.0% low. The map puts 73.8% of Matanuska-Susitna Borough in the area it calls Coastal Trough and 19.9% in Alaska-Aleutian Province, with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives both a radon index of 9, in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Matanuska-Susitna Borough
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Coastal Troughmarine and continental sedimentary rocks; Tertiary volcanic rocksModerate973.8%
Alaska-Aleutian Provincesedimentary and mafic volcanic rocks, glacial deposits; felsic intrusives; metamorphic rocksModerate919.9%
Pacific Border RangesPaleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary and metamorphic rocks with some mafic volcanic and intrusive rocks.Low76.0%

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

Matanuska-Susitna Borough beside the ground around it

Matanuska-Susitna Borough has more moderate-potential ground than Alaska as a whole: 93.9% of its land against 79.2%. Of the 7 boroughs and census areas that border it, 4 have more moderate-potential ground, Denali Borough the most at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the 7 boroughs and census areas bordering it and Alaska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Matanuska-Susitna BoroughZone 26.0%93.9%None
Denali BoroughZone 3None100%None
Anchorage MunicipalityZone 395.6%3.4%None
Kenai Peninsula BoroughZone 240.2%58.2%None
Valdez-Cordova Census AreaZone 347.0%50.6%None
Southeast Fairbanks Census AreaZone 2None100%None
Yukon-Koyukuk Census AreaZone 3None100%None
Bethel Census AreaZone 3None97.8%None
Alaska29 boroughs and census areas, pooled by land areaVaries19.2%79.2%None

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

Local help

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Matanuska-Susitna Borough

What Alaska's program says
Phone
907-269-6401
Email
paul.goodfellow@alaska.gov

What it means

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Questions

Questions about radon in Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Are radon levels high in Matanuska-Susitna Borough?

In 2022, 14.3% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.1 pCi/L. Of 3 Alaska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 1 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 11.5%.

Which counties border Matanuska-Susitna Borough?

Matanuska-Susitna Borough borders 7 boroughs and census areas: Denali Borough, Anchorage Municipality, Kenai Peninsula Borough, Valdez-Cordova Census Area, Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area and Bethel Census Area.

Products

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Products

Testing a home in Matanuska-Susitna Borough

In Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 14.3% of 42 tests reported to CDC in 2022 reached 4 pCi/L, against 11.5% pooled across Alaska. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Matanuska-Susitna Borough; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Matanuska-Susitna Borough homes, compared

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Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Bordering boroughs and census areas

Boroughs and census areas bordering Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Calculated by Radon411

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Matanuska-Susitna Borough is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 118,666 residents on July 1, 2025, up 10.4% from 107,514 in 2020. Spread over its land, that is 4.8 people to the square mile. No town dominates: Wasilla, the largest, has 10,556 residents, 8.9% of the total. Together its 3 incorporated places hold 16.5% of those residents; the other 83.5% live outside any of them. CDC's 42 reported tests for 2022 work out to 0.4 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Alaska's 0.4.

From Wasilla to Houston, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Matanuska-Susitna Borough's.

The cities and towns in Matanuska-Susitna Borough by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Wasilla10,556+15.8%8.9%
Palmer6,710+12.9%5.7%
Houston2,267+14.5%1.9%

3 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).

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Homes

Homes in Matanuska-Susitna Borough

Matanuska-Susitna Borough is a place of houses on their own lots: 83% of its 50,922 homes are detached single-family houses, against 63% across Alaska. Much of Matanuska-Susitna Borough is recent building: 45% of its homes have gone up since 2000 and the middle year built is 1996, against 1985 for Alaska. Owners live in 77% of the occupied homes (Alaska: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, 2019 to 2023
HomesMatanuska-Susitna BoroughAlaska
Housing units50,922327,610
Detached houses83%63%
In buildings of 5 or more5%12%
Mobile homes3%4%
Built before 19603%8%
Built since 200045%25%
Middle year built19961985
Owner-occupied77%67%

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