Short-term kit
RA100 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Amador County, California
EPA puts Amador County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 27.8% of its 36 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
27.8%
17.5 pts above CA
- Amador
- 27.8%
- California
- 10.3%
36 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
2.3pCi/L
Below action level
- Amador
- 2.3 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
36
30th of 33 by tests
- Amador
- 36
- Los Angeles
- 2,363
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 California
2 of 33
Top quarter
- Amador
- 27.8%
- El Dorado
- 30.3%
By share, of 33 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Amador County
Starts at Amador County's median, 2.3 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 2.3 pCi/L
Between 2 and 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Amador County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Amador County, At a glance
Amador County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Amador 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 Amador County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 47%2 to 4 pCi/L: 25%4 pCi/L and above: 28%
Of 36 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 17 | 47.2% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 9 | 25.0% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 10 | 27.8% |
What these figures count
These are the 36 tests reported to CDC for Amador 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).
Amador County, Compared
Amador County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Amador County's 36 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 2.3 pCi/L and a maximum of 57.3 pCi/L, and 27.8% reached 4 pCi/L. California as a whole (56 California counties, pooled) comes to 10.3%: 17.5 points lower than here.
Among its state's counties it ranks 2nd of 33 California counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, El Dorado County reported the highest share (30.3%) and Sonoma County the lowest (0.8%).
Below the action level, 17 tests (47.2%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 76.8% statewide, and 9 tests (25.0%) fell between 2 and 4, against 12.9% statewide. CDC's ten-year totals for Amador County went from 37 tests (2005 to 2014) to 36 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 24.3% to 27.8%.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Amador 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 7.7% in Sacramento County to 30.3% in El Dorado County, with Calaveras County, San Joaquin County and Sacramento County below Amador County.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Amador County, Geology
The ground under Amador County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Amador County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Sierra Nevada, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Nevada | Northern Sierra Nevada is underlain primarily by Paleozoic and Mesozoic metamorphic rocks. Granitic rocks predominate in the southern Sierrra Nevada , with lesser Mesozoic metamorphic rocks. | Moderate | 9 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Amador County beside the ground around it
Across California 0.1% of the land is rated high; none of Amador County's is. Of the 5 counties that border it, none has as large a share of moderate-potential ground; Alpine County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Amador County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Amador County
- California Indoor Radon ProgramCalifornia Indoor Radon Program, run by California Department of Public Health, licenses or certifies radon professionals and offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in California.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Discounted test kits can be purchased through our partner laboratory, Alpha Energy, for $14.95.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in California4 professionals are listed in California.
What California's program says
- Phone
- 1-800-745-7236
- Radonprogram@cdph.ca.gov
- Licensing of radon professionals
The Radon Program certifies all radon service providers operating in California.
What it means
Amador County, Questions
Questions about radon in Amador County
Are radon levels high in Amador County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 27.8% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Amador County, California were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.3 pCi/L. Of 33 California counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 1 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 10.3%.
Which counties border Amador County?
Amador County borders 5 counties: Calaveras County, El Dorado County, Sacramento County, San Joaquin County and Alpine County.
Products
Amador County, Products
Testing a home in Amador County
In Amador County, 27.8% of 36 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 10.3% pooled across California. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Amador County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
MonitorForensics Detectors
FD-65-RADON rechargeable radon detector with a color screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Amador County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Amador County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Alpine CountyEPA zone 2
63.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.5 pCi/L · 19 tests · 35.4 points above Amador County
- Radon levels in El Dorado CountyEPA zone 2
30.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.6 pCi/L · 274 tests · 2.5 points above Amador County
- Radon levels in Calaveras CountyEPA zone 2
17.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.7 pCi/L · 34 tests · 10.2 points below Amador County
- Radon levels in San Joaquin CountyEPA zone 3
14.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.4 pCi/L · 74 tests · 12.9 points below Amador County
- Radon levels in Sacramento CountyEPA zone 3
7.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.9 pCi/L · 194 tests · 20.1 points below Amador County
Amador County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Amador County
The Census Bureau estimates 41,876 residents in Amador County for July 1, 2025, 1,309 more than in 2020 (+3.2%). That works out to 70 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Ione, has 9,282 residents, 22.2% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 44.1% of those residents; the other 55.9% live outside any of them. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 36 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 come to 0.9 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 0.2 for California.
From Ione to Amador City, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Amador County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ione | 9,282 | +4.2% | 22.2% |
| Jackson | 5,100 | +2.2% | 12.2% |
| Sutter Creek | 2,701 | +1.7% | 6.4% |
| Plymouth | 1,174 | +8.9% | 2.8% |
| Amador City | 204 | +4.6% | 0.5% |
5 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).
Amador County, Homes
Homes in Amador County
Amador County is a place of houses on their own lots: 84% of its 18,919 homes are detached single-family houses, against 57% across California. Half of its homes were built before 1983, close to California's 1976: 14% date from before 1960 and 23% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 80% of the occupied homes (California: 56%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Amador County | California |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 18,919 | 14,532,683 |
| Detached houses | 84% | 57% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 5% | 24% |
| Mobile homes | 6% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 14% | 27% |
| Built since 2000 | 23% | 18% |
| Middle year built | 1983 | 1976 |
| Owner-occupied | 80% | 56% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.