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
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Otero County, Colorado
EPA puts Otero County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 6 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2023). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
58.7%
9.9 pts above CO
- Otero
- 58.7%
- Colorado
- 48.8%
75 tests, 2006 to 2015
Median result
4.6pCi/L
Action level reached
- Otero
- 4.6 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2006 to 2015
Tests reported
75
40th of 48 by tests
- Otero
- 75
- Jefferson
- 9,281
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2006 to 2015
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Colorado
15 of 48
Middle half
- Otero
- 58.7%
- Pueblo
- 69.9%
By share, of 48 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Otero County
Starts at Otero County's median, 4.6 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.6 pCi/L
At or above 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is at or above 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends fixing a home when the radon level is 4 pCi/L or higher. Otero County's median reported result, 2006 to 2015.
The data
Otero County, At a glance
Otero County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Otero County in
USGS geologic potential: High across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Otero County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 100.0% |
| 2015 | 50.0% |
| 2018 | 30.8% |
| 2019 | 70.0% |
| 2020 | 62.5% |
| 2021 | 41.7% |
| 2022 | 68.4% |
| 2023 | 33.3% |
2023: 33.3%. Across these years the share ran from 30.8% to 100.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 6 tests were reported to CDC for Otero County over 2023, and tests are often run on homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: so few describe neither the county nor this house.
Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2023. Measured data period: 2005 to 2023 (every CDC figure on file).
Otero County, Compared
Otero County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 58.7% of the 75 radon tests reported to CDC for Otero County over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 15th of 48 Colorado counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 9.9 points above the 48.8% pooled from 63 Colorado counties.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 6 tests (33.3% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 75-test figure.
The median result, 4.6 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 15.2 pCi/L. The rest split 21.3% under 2 pCi/L and 20.0% from 2 to 4 (Colorado: 29.8% and 21.4%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 58.7% share point the same way here.
All 3 of its bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Pueblo County at 69.9%; the lowest of them, Las Animas County, reported 63.9%. Statewide for the same period, Pueblo County reported the highest share (69.9%) and Prowers County the lowest (29.7%).
The busiest year on file was 2019, with 20 tests reported; the quietest, 2014, had 2.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 36.3%; Otero County sits 22.4 points above it.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Otero County, State data
Colorado's own radon test data
MeasuredWhat Colorado's own agencies publish about radon tests in Otero County, with their period. These are not CDC's figures and are never added to them.
MeasuredState figures, not CDC's
What Colorado CDPHE reports for Otero County
Radon data (county results): radon test results received from radon testing labs, primarily short-term household tests taken by the homeowner. Period: 2005-2025.
Share over 4 pCi/L
58.0%
91 of 157 tests
Median result
4.7 pCi/L
Highest result
114.0 pCi/L
Tests behind these figures
157 tests
- CDPHE says these data do not give actual radon levels in homes that have not been tested.
- When possible, only tests conducted before a mitigation system was installed are used.
- Some counties have very small numbers of test results, and their summaries may be less representative.
- These figures describe tests reported to Colorado CDPHE in this area. They count a different set of tests than CDC's figures and are not a reading of any one home.
Measured: Colorado CDPHE data, 2005-2025.
Otero County, Geology
The ground under Otero County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Otero County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls High Plains, to which USGS gives a radon index of 12, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Plains | Quaternary deposits and Cretaceous marine shales that locally have a high radiometric signature. | High | 12 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Otero County beside the ground around it
Otero County has more high-potential ground than Colorado as a whole: 100% of its land against 74.8%. Of the 5 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Crowley County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Otero County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Otero County
- Colorado's radon programColorado Department of Public Health and EnvironmentColorado's radon program licenses or certifies radon professionals, offers free or discounted test kits and states the rule for disclosing radon when a home is sold, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Colorado.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Order a discounted radon test kit
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Colorado25 professionals are listed in Colorado.
What Colorado's program says
- Licensing of radon professionals
Listed contractors are certified by the National Radon Proficiency Program or the National Radon Safety Board, and must be licensed by the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies.
- Disclosure when a home is sold or rented
As of August 7, 2023, landlords in Colorado are required to disclose radon information when a tenant signs a lease agreement.
What it means
Otero County, Questions
Questions about radon in Otero County
Are radon levels high in Otero County?
In 2023, 33.3% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Otero County, Colorado were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.8 pCi/L. Of 48 Colorado counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 14 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 48.8%.
Which counties border Otero County?
Otero County borders 5 counties: Crowley County, Bent County, Las Animas County, Pueblo County and Kiowa County.
Products
Otero County, Products
Testing a home in Otero County
In Otero County, 58.7% of 75 tests reported to CDC over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 48.8% pooled across Colorado. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Otero County is the one to know: a long-term test (more than 90 days) or a monitor, with a short-term kit for a first answer.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Monitor
RM-65 rechargeable radon detector with a color screen and alarm
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
Short-term kit
RA100 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Otero County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Otero County
Explore
Otero County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Otero County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Crowley CountyEPA zone 1
100.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.5 pCi/L · 8 tests · 41.3 points above Otero County
- Radon levels in Pueblo CountyEPA zone 1
69.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.3 pCi/L · 3,569 tests · 11.2 points above Otero County
- Radon levels in Bent CountyEPA zone 1
66.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.4 pCi/L · 30 tests · 8.0 points above Otero County
- Radon levels in Las Animas CountyEPA zone 1
63.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.5 pCi/L · 183 tests · 5.2 points above Otero County
- Radon levels in Kiowa CountyEPA zone 1
61.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.8 pCi/L · 13 tests · 2.8 points above Otero County
Otero County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Otero County
Otero County has been losing residents: from 18,659 in 2020 to 17,683 on July 1, 2025, a fall of 5.2% by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 14 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, La Junta, has 6,864 residents, 38.8% of the total. Together its 6 incorporated places hold 73.0% of those residents; the other 27.0% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 75 tests over 2006 to 2015, or 4.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Colorado as a whole comes to 13.2.
From La Junta to Cheraw, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Otero County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Junta | 6,864 | −6.3% | 38.8% |
| Rocky Ford | 3,752 | −2.8% | 21.2% |
| Fowler | 1,171 | −6.5% | 6.6% |
| Swink | 579 | −4.6% | 3.3% |
| Manzanola | 319 | −5.9% | 1.8% |
| Cheraw | 223 | −5.1% | 1.3% |
6 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).
Otero County, Homes
Homes in Otero County
Otero County is a place of houses on their own lots: 78% of its 8,725 homes are detached single-family houses, against 62% across Colorado. The homes are older than Colorado's as a whole: half were built before 1957 (1987 for Colorado), and 54% date from before 1960. 69% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Colorado: 66%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Otero County | Colorado |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 8,725 | 2,545,124 |
| Detached houses | 78% | 62% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 9% | 22% |
| Mobile homes | 8% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 54% | 16% |
| Built since 2000 | 8% | 31% |
| Middle year built | 1957 | 1987 |
| Owner-occupied | 69% | 66% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.