Short-term kit
Radon Short Term Test Kit short-term charcoal radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 2 to 7 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Jackson County, Illinois
EPA puts Jackson County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 25.0% of its 96 reported radon tests (2017) 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
25.0%
8.7 pts below IL
- Jackson
- 25.0%
- Illinois
- 33.7%
96 tests, 2017
Median result
2.5pCi/L
Below action level
- Jackson
- 2.5 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2017
Tests reported
96
51st of 70 by tests
- Jackson
- 96
- Cook
- 26,937
Reported to CDC before any fix, 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 Illinois
62 of 70
Lowest quarter
- Jackson
- 25.0%
- Stark
- 69.2%
By share, of 70 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Jackson County
Starts at Jackson County's median, 2.5 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 2.5 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. Jackson County's median reported result, 2017.
The data
Jackson County, At a glance
Jackson County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Jackson 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 Jackson County, 2017
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 32.4% |
| 2015 | 14.3% |
| 2017 | 25.0% |
2017: 25.0%. Across these years the share ran from 14.3% to 32.4%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
These are the 96 tests reported to CDC for Jackson County over 2017, 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: 2017. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Jackson County, Compared
Jackson County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Jackson County's 96 reported tests in 2017 had a middle value of 2.5 pCi/L and a maximum of 9.4 pCi/L, and 25.0% reached 4 pCi/L. Illinois as a whole (93 Illinois counties, pooled) comes to 33.7%: 8.7 points higher than here.
Among its state's counties it ranks 62nd of 70 Illinois counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Stark County reported the highest share (69.2%) and Williamson County the lowest (8.4%).
Below the action level, 27 tests (28.1%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 37.7% statewide, and 45 tests (46.9%) fell between 2 and 4, against 28.6% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2014, with 408 tests reported; the quietest, 2015, had 84.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Jackson 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 8.4% in Williamson County to 35.0% in Randolph County, with Franklin County and Williamson County below Jackson County. Over 3 years of annual figures the share fell 7.4 points, from 32.4% in 2014 to 25.0% in 2017; its peak was 32.4% in 2014.
Jackson CountyIllinois, pooled
25.0% % of tests33.7% % of tests
| Year | Tests | Jackson County, at or above 4 pCi/L | Illinois, pooled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 408 | 32.4% | 37.8% |
| 2015 | 84 | 14.3% | 36.6% |
| 2017 | 96 | 25.0% | 33.7% |
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Jackson County, Geology
The ground under Jackson County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Jackson County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. The map puts 78.7% of Jackson County in the area it calls Southern Central Lowland Province and 14.2% in Shawnee Hills Section, with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 9 and the second 10, both in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Central Lowland Province | Illinoian glacial deposits, sandstone, and gray shale. | Moderate | 9 | 78.7% |
| Shawnee Hills Section | Unglaciated Ordovician to Pennsylvanian limestone, sandstone, and shale. | Moderate | 10 | 14.2% |
| Salem Plateau | Ordovician dolomite, sandstone, limestone, and shale. | Moderate | 11 | 7.1% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Jackson County beside the ground around it
Across Illinois 64.5% of the land is rated high; none of Jackson County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, none has as large a share of moderate-potential ground; Franklin County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Jackson County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Jackson County
- IEMA-OHS Radon ProgramIEMA-OHS Radon Program, run by Illinois Emergency Management Agency and Office of Homeland Security, licenses or certifies radon professionals and states the rule for disclosing radon when a home is sold, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Illinois.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsAsk the program whether it has free or discounted kits, or compare kits you can buy.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Illinois339 professionals are listed in Illinois.
Listed radon professionals by town: Carbondale
What Illinois's program says
- Phone
- (800) 325-1245
- Licensing of radon professionals
The Agency also licenses and regulates the individuals who provide radon measurement and mitigation to the public.
- Disclosure when a home is sold or rented
Illinois Radon Awareness Act - This is the legislation that requires the seller to provide to the buyer of any interest in residential real property the IEMA-OHS pamphlet entitled "Radon Testing Guidelines for Real Estate Transactions" and the Illinois Disclosure of Information on Radon Hazards.
What it means
Jackson County, Questions
Questions about radon in Jackson County
Are radon levels high in Jackson County?
In 2017, 25.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Jackson County, Illinois were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.5 pCi/L. Of 70 Illinois counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 61 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 33.7%.
Which counties border Jackson County?
Jackson County borders 6 counties: Perry County, IL, Union County, IL, Perry County, MO, Williamson County, IL, Randolph County, IL and Franklin County, IL.
Products
Jackson County, Products
Testing a home in Jackson County
In Jackson County, 25.0% of 96 tests reported to CDC in 2017 reached 4 pCi/L, against 33.7% pooled across Illinois. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Jackson 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
Monitor
EcoBlu plug-in digital radon monitor with a display
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Plug-in
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Jackson County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Jackson County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Perry County, ILEPA zone 2
40.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 15 tests · 15.0 points above Jackson County
- Radon levels in Randolph County, ILEPA zone 2
35.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.9 pCi/L · 60 tests · 10.0 points above Jackson County
- Radon levels in Perry County, MOEPA zone 2
33.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.6 pCi/L · 3 tests · 8.3 points above Jackson County
- Radon levels in Franklin County, ILEPA zone 2
10.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 30 tests · 15.0 points below Jackson County
- Radon levels in Williamson County, ILEPA zone 2
8.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.9 pCi/L · 249 tests · 16.6 points below Jackson County
- Radon levels in Union County, ILEPA zone 2
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.3 pCi/L · 21 tests · 25.0 points below Jackson County
Jackson County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Jackson County
About 52,501 people live in Jackson County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 788 fewer than in 2020 (−1.5%). That works out to 90 people per square mile of land. Carbondale, the largest place on its list (21,811 residents in all), extends beyond Jackson County, so no share of the total is worked out for it. Reported testing is thin here: 96 tests over 2017, or 1.8 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Illinois as a whole comes to 10.9.
From Carbondale to Gorham, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Jackson County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbondaleextends beyond Jackson County | 21,811 | −2.1% | Counted whole |
| Murphysboro | 6,977 | −1.4% | 13.3% |
| De Soto | 1,388 | −1.0% | 2.6% |
| Elkville | 831 | −1.3% | 1.6% |
| Ava | 542 | −0.9% | 1.0% |
| Makanda | 542 | −0.9% | 1.0% |
| Grand Tower | 474 | −1.0% | 0.9% |
| Dowell | 364 | −1.6% | 0.7% |
| Campbell Hill | 308 | −1.9% | 0.6% |
| Vergennes | 234 | −0.4% | 0.4% |
| Gorham | 168 | −1.2% | 0.3% |
11 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 Jackson County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Jackson County, Homes
Homes in Jackson County
Fewer than six in ten of Jackson County's 27,750 homes are detached houses (52%, against 58% across Illinois); the rest are attached, in shared buildings or mobile. Half of its homes were built before 1976, close to Illinois' 1970: 24% date from before 1960 and 17% from 2000 or later. Most occupied homes here are rented: owners live in 49% (Illinois: 67%). A tenant can run a test; a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Jackson County | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 27,750 | 5,443,501 |
| Detached houses | 52% | 58% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 20% | 22% |
| Mobile homes | 12% | 2% |
| Built before 1960 | 24% | 38% |
| Built since 2000 | 17% | 16% |
| Middle year built | 1976 | 1970 |
| Owner-occupied | 49% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.