Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Payette County, Idaho
EPA puts Payette County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and most reported tests there come back low, though 4.9% of 61 (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
Share at 4+ pCi/L
4.9%
36.6 pts below ID
- Payette
- 4.9%
- Idaho
- 41.5%
61 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.5pCi/L
Below action level
- Payette
- 1.5 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
61
28th of 37 by tests
- Payette
- 61
- Ada
- 3,030
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 Idaho
37 of 37
Lowest quarter
- Payette
- 4.9%
- Bear Lake
- 78.1%
By share, of 37 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Payette County
Starts at Payette County's median, 1.5 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.5 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. Payette County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Payette County, At a glance
Payette County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Payette County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 88% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Payette County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 59%2 to 4 pCi/L: 36%4 pCi/L and above: 5%
Of 61 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 36 | 59.0% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 22 | 36.1% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 3 | 4.9% |
What these figures count
These are the 61 tests reported to CDC for Payette 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).
Payette County, Compared
Payette County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Only 3 of 61 radon tests reported for Payette County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L (4.9%). The median result, 1.5 pCi/L, sits below 2, well under EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 6.5 pCi/L.
Across 44 Idaho counties pooled together, 41.5% of tests reached that level, so Payette County runs 36.6 points below its state. Against the national pool of 35.7%, the gap is 30.8 points lower. Its place in the state: 37th of 37 Idaho counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.
The reported tests do not follow EPA's Zone 2 label for Payette County (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L): 4.9% of them reached 4 pCi/L, fewer than that label suggests. Of 3 neighbours with a figure, all 3 reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L; the spread is 10.7% (Canyon County) to 20.9% (Washington County).
Below the action level, 36 tests (59.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 31.5% statewide, and 22 tests (36.1%) fell between 2 and 4, against 26.9% statewide. USGS geology rates 88% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
CDC's ten-year totals for Payette County went from 59 tests (2005 to 2014) to 61 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 5.1% to 4.9%.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Payette County, Geology
The ground under Payette County
PredictedMost of the ground under Payette County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 88.3% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 11.7% low. The map puts 88.3% of Payette County in the area it calls Eastern Snake river plain and Malheur-Boise-King Section and 11.7% in Seven Devils and Tri-State Uplands. USGS gives the first a radon index of 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11), and the second 8, in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Snake river plain and Malheur-Boise-King Section | Basalt flows. | Moderate | 10 | 88.3% |
| Seven Devils and Tri-State Uplands | Columbia River basalt flows. | Low | 8 | 11.7% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Payette County beside the ground around it
Across Idaho 50.7% of the land is rated high; none of Payette County's is. Of the 4 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Gem County the most at 19.3%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Payette County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Payette County
- DHW Environmental Health ProgramDHW Environmental Health Program, run by Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Idaho.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Order a free radon test kit.
- Compare kits
- See the Idaho directoryNo professionals are listed in Idaho yet. The state program can point you to registered testers and mitigators.
What Idaho's program says
- Phone
- 800-445-8647
- radon@dhw.idaho.gov
What it means
Payette County, Questions
Questions about radon in Payette County
Are radon levels high in Payette County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 4.9% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Payette County, Idaho were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.5 pCi/L. Of 37 Idaho counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 36 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 41.5%.
Which counties border Payette County?
Payette County borders 4 counties: Canyon County, ID, Gem County, ID, Washington County, ID and Malheur County, OR.
Products
Payette County, Products
Testing a home in Payette County
In Payette County, 4.9% of 61 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 41.5% pooled across Idaho. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Payette 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
View Radon Wi-Fi radon monitor with an e-paper display
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Battery
- Wi-Fi, 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
Payette County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Payette County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Washington County, IDEPA zone 3
20.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.1 pCi/L · 67 tests · 16.0 points above Payette County
- Radon levels in Gem County, IDEPA zone 3
20.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 99 tests · 15.3 points above Payette County
- Radon levels in Canyon County, IDEPA zone 2
10.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.6 pCi/L · 563 tests · 5.8 points above Payette County
- Radon levels in Malheur County, OREPA zone 2
8.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.0 pCi/L · 12 tests · 3.4 points above Payette County
Payette County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Payette County
Payette County is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 27,824 residents on July 1, 2025, up 8.8% from 25,577 in 2020. That works out to 68 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Payette, has 8,813 residents, 31.7% of the total. Together its 3 incorporated places hold 63.5% of those residents; the other 36.5% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 61 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 2.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Idaho as a whole comes to 6.4.
From Payette to New Plymouth, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Payette County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payette | 8,813 | +7.5% | 31.7% |
| Fruitland | 7,213 | +18.0% | 25.9% |
| New Plymouth | 1,629 | +7.5% | 5.9% |
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).
Payette County, Homes
Homes in Payette County
Of Payette County's 9,950 homes, 74% are detached houses, against 74% across Idaho; 15% are mobile homes. The homes are older than Idaho's as a whole: half were built before 1978 (1990 for Idaho), and 31% date from before 1960. 74% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Idaho: 72%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Payette County | Idaho |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 9,950 | 776,683 |
| Detached houses | 74% | 74% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 5% | 9% |
| Mobile homes | 15% | 7% |
| Built before 1960 | 31% | 18% |
| Built since 2000 | 24% | 35% |
| Middle year built | 1978 | 1990 |
| Owner-occupied | 74% | 72% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.