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 Perry County, Illinois
EPA puts Perry County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 15 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2017). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
25.3%
18.4 pts below IL
- Perry
- 25.3%
- Illinois
- 43.7%
182 tests, 2005 to 2014
Median result
2.3pCi/L
Below action level
- Perry
- 2.3 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2005 to 2014
Tests reported
182
54th of 92 by tests
- Perry
- 182
- Cook
- 12,340
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2005 to 2014
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
72 of 92
Lowest quarter
- Perry
- 25.3%
- Stark
- 86.0%
By share, of 92 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Perry County
Starts at Perry 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. Perry County's median reported result, 2005 to 2014.
The data
Perry County, At a glance
Perry County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Perry 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 Perry County, 2017
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 40.0% |
2017: 40.0%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 40.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 15 tests were reported to CDC for Perry County over 2017, 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: 2017. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Perry County, Compared
Perry County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Perry County's 182 reported tests over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals had a middle value of 2.3 pCi/L and a maximum of 27.6 pCi/L, and 25.3% reached 4 pCi/L. Illinois as a whole (102 Illinois counties, pooled) comes to 43.7%: 18.4 points higher than here.
The newest figure, in 2017, counts only 15 tests (40.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 182-test figure.
Among its state's counties it ranks 72nd of 92 Illinois counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Stark County reported the highest share (86.0%) and Massac County the lowest (12.5%).
Below the action level, 78 tests (42.9%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 31.6% statewide, and 58 tests (31.9%) fell between 2 and 4, against 24.7% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2017, with 15 tests reported; the quietest, 2015, had 6.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Perry 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 19.2% in Franklin County to 41.4% in Randolph County, with Washington County, Jefferson County and Franklin County below Perry County.
CDC also counts 6 tests taken after mitigation in Perry County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Perry County, Geology
The ground under Perry County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Perry County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Southern Central Lowland Province, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Central Lowland Province | Illinoian glacial deposits, sandstone, and gray shale. | 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.
Perry County beside the ground around it
Across Illinois 64.5% of the land is rated high; none of Perry County's is. Of the 5 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
Perry County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Perry County
Listed radon businesses with an address in Perry 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: Du Quoin, Pinckneyville
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
Perry County, Questions
Questions about radon in Perry County
Are radon levels high in Perry County?
In 2017, 40.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Perry County, Illinois were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.5 pCi/L. Of 92 Illinois counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 71 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 43.7%.
Which counties border Perry County?
Perry County borders 5 counties: Washington County, Jackson County, Franklin County, Randolph County and Jefferson County.
Products
Perry County, Products
Testing a home in Perry County
In Perry County, 25.3% of 182 tests reported to CDC over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 43.7% pooled across Illinois. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Perry 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
Perry County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Perry County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Randolph CountyEPA zone 2
41.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.3 pCi/L · 140 tests · 16.1 points above Perry County
- Radon levels in Jackson CountyEPA zone 2
29.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.4 pCi/L · 476 tests · 4.5 points above Perry County
- Radon levels in Washington CountyEPA zone 2
23.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.5 pCi/L · 124 tests · 1.9 points below Perry County
- Radon levels in Jefferson CountyEPA zone 2
21.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 292 tests · 3.4 points below Perry County
- Radon levels in Franklin CountyEPA zone 2
19.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.8 pCi/L · 213 tests · 6.1 points below Perry County
Perry County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Perry County
About 20,160 people live in Perry County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 724 fewer than in 2020 (−3.5%). That works out to 46 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Du Quoin, has 5,569 residents, 27.6% of the total. Together its 6 incorporated places hold 59.8% of those residents; the other 40.2% live outside any of them. CDC's 182 reported tests for 2005 to 2014 work out to 9.0 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Illinois' 7.1.
From Du Quoin to St. Johns, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Perry County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Du Quoin | 5,569 | −3.7% | 27.6% |
| Pinckneyville | 4,903 | −3.2% | 24.3% |
| Willisville | 560 | −2.9% | 2.8% |
| Tamaroa | 524 | −3.3% | 2.6% |
| Cutler | 351 | −3.6% | 1.7% |
| St. Johns | 158 | −2.5% | 0.8% |
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).
Perry County, Homes
Homes in Perry County
Perry County is a place of houses on their own lots: 76% of its 9,166 homes are detached single-family houses, against 58% across Illinois. Half of its homes were built before 1973, close to Illinois' 1970: 37% date from before 1960 and 15% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 79% of the occupied homes (Illinois: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Perry County | Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 9,166 | 5,443,501 |
| Detached houses | 76% | 58% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 6% | 22% |
| Mobile homes | 11% | 2% |
| Built before 1960 | 37% | 38% |
| Built since 2000 | 15% | 16% |
| Middle year built | 1973 | 1970 |
| Owner-occupied | 79% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.