Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Cedar County, Iowa
EPA puts Cedar County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 60.4% of the 765 radon tests reported to CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) came back 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
60.4%
1.9 pts above IA
- Cedar
- 60.4%
- Iowa
- 58.5%
765 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
5.0pCi/L
Action level reached
- Cedar
- 5.0 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
765
29th of 99 by tests
- Cedar
- 765
- Polk
- 10,945
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Iowa
62 of 99
Middle half
- Cedar
- 60.4%
- Sioux
- 84.2%
By share, of 99 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Cedar County
Starts at Cedar County's median, 5.0 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 5.0 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. Cedar County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Cedar County, At a glance
Cedar County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Cedar 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 Cedar County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 18%2 to 4 pCi/L: 22%4 pCi/L and above: 60%
Of 765 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 136 | 17.8% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 167 | 21.8% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 462 | 60.4% |
What these figures count
These are the 765 tests reported to CDC for Cedar 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).
Cedar County, Compared
Cedar County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 60.4% of the 765 radon tests reported to CDC for Cedar County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 62nd of 99 Iowa counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 1.9 points above the 58.5% pooled from 99 Iowa counties.
The median result, 5.0 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 82.6 pCi/L. The rest split 17.8% under 2 pCi/L and 21.8% from 2 to 4 (Iowa: 21.8% and 19.7%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 60.4% share point the same way here.
No bordering county with a figure for the same period reported a higher share; the closest is Jones County at 59.3%, the lowest Linn County at 39.7%. Statewide for the same period, Sioux County reported the highest share (84.2%) and Decatur County the lowest (25.9%).
CDC's ten-year totals for Cedar County went from 694 tests (2005 to 2014) to 765 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 62.7% to 60.4%.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Cedar County sits 24.7 points above it. CDC also counts 127 tests taken after mitigation in Cedar 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.
Cedar County, Geology
The ground under Cedar County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Cedar County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. The map puts 84.8% of Cedar County in the area it calls Loess-Covered Drift Plains and 15.2% in Iowan Surface. USGS gives the first a radon index of 13 and the second 12, both in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loess-Covered Drift Plains | Pre-Illinoian and Illinoian glacial deposits, and loess. | High | 13 | 84.8% |
| Iowan Surface | Pre-Illinoian glaical deposits and loess. | High | 12 | 15.2% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Cedar County beside the ground around it
On high-potential ground Cedar County is close to Iowa as a whole: 100% of its land against 98.8%. Of the 6 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Linn County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Cedar County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Cedar County
- Iowa HHS Radon ProgramIowa HHS Radon Program, run by Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, 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 Iowa.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
You can reach the Hotline by calling 1-800-383-5992 to order low-cost radon test kits and find answers to your radon questions.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Iowa185 professionals are listed in Iowa.
What Iowa's program says
- Phone
- (515) 281-4928
- Licensing of radon professionals
Iowa’s radon program approves applications for persons who wish to become certified to perform radon testing or credentialed to perform mitigation and laboratories that provide radon testing devices and analytical services.
- Disclosure when a home is sold or rented
However, per Iowa Code chapters 543B.9 and 543B.18 and Iowa Administrative Code 193E Chapter 14 administered by the Iowa Real Estate Commission, a seller must disclose any known tests for the presence of radon and if yes, provide the date of last report and the result(s).
What it means
Cedar County, Questions
Questions about radon in Cedar County
Are radon levels high in Cedar County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 60.4% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Cedar County, Iowa were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.0 pCi/L. Of 99 Iowa counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 61 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 58.5%.
Which counties border Cedar County?
Cedar County borders 6 counties: Muscatine County, Jones County, Johnson County, Scott County, Clinton County and Linn County.
Products
Cedar County, Products
Testing a home in Cedar County
In Cedar County, 60.4% of 765 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 58.5% pooled across Iowa. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Cedar 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
EcoQube Flex battery digital radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- Alarm
- Screen, app
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 15 minutes
Short-term kit
PicoCan short-term charcoal canister radon test
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 48 to 96 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Cedar County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Cedar County
Explore
Cedar County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Cedar County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Jones CountyEPA zone 1
59.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.1 pCi/L · 555 tests · 1.1 points below Cedar County
- Radon levels in Clinton CountyEPA zone 1
52.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.3 pCi/L · 1,375 tests · 7.7 points below Cedar County
- Radon levels in Muscatine CountyEPA zone 1
46.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.7 pCi/L · 954 tests · 13.9 points below Cedar County
- Radon levels in Scott CountyEPA zone 1
44.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.3 pCi/L · 3,520 tests · 16.1 points below Cedar County
- Radon levels in Johnson CountyEPA zone 1
41.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.2 pCi/L · 7,321 tests · 18.8 points below Cedar County
- Radon levels in Linn CountyEPA zone 1
39.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.0 pCi/L · 9,395 tests · 20.7 points below Cedar County
Cedar County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Cedar County
About 18,359 people live in Cedar County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 127 fewer than in 2020 (−0.7%). That works out to 32 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Tipton, the largest, has 3,060 residents, 16.7% of the total. CDC's 765 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 work out to 41.7 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Iowa's 29.4.
From Tipton to Bennett, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Cedar County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tipton | 3,060 | −3.2% | 16.7% |
| West Branchextends beyond Cedar County | 2,956 | +17.8% | Counted whole |
| Wiltonextends beyond Cedar County | 2,892 | −0.9% | Counted whole |
| Durantextends beyond Cedar County | 1,800 | −4.1% | Counted whole |
| Clarence | 996 | −4.0% | 5.4% |
| Mechanicsville | 977 | −3.8% | 5.3% |
| Lowden | 769 | −4.1% | 4.2% |
| Stanwood | 613 | −4.1% | 3.3% |
| Bennett | 329 | −5.5% | 1.8% |
9 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 Cedar County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Cedar County, Homes
Homes in Cedar County
Cedar County is a place of houses on their own lots: 83% of its 8,238 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Iowa. The homes are older than Iowa's as a whole: half were built before 1962 (1971 for Iowa), and 49% date from before 1960. Owners live in 81% of the occupied homes (Iowa: 72%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Cedar County | Iowa |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 8,238 | 1,427,175 |
| Detached houses | 83% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 4% | 14% |
| Mobile homes | 4% | 3% |
| Built before 1960 | 49% | 39% |
| Built since 2000 | 18% | 21% |
| Middle year built | 1962 | 1971 |
| Owner-occupied | 81% | 72% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.