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Radon Levels in Des Moines County, Iowa

EPA puts Des Moines County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 51.1% of the 436 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

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  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    51.1%

    7.4 pts below IA

    Des Moines
    51.1%
    Iowa
    58.5%

    436 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    4.2pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Des Moines
    4.2 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Tests reported

    436

    54th of 99 by tests

    Des Moines
    436
    Polk
    10,945

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Iowa

    79 of 99

    Lowest quarter

    Des Moines
    51.1%
    Sioux
    84.2%

    By share, of 99 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Des Moines County

Starts at Des Moines County's median, 4.2 pCi/L

4.2pCi/L

EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.

EPA’s reading of 4.2 pCi/L

At or above 4 pCi/L

  1. Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
  2. 2 to 4consider a fix
  3. 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. Des Moines County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Des Moines County, At a glance

Des Moines County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential

EPA puts all of Des Moines County in and predicts an average indoor of greater than 4 pCi/L (greater than 150 Bq/m³) across the county. That is one forecast for the whole county, not a reading of any address in it; homes above EPA's turn up in all three zones.

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 Des Moines County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory

Reported results by concentration band, Des Moines County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 27%2 to 4 pCi/L: 22%4 pCi/L and above: 51%

Of 436 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.

Reported results by concentration band, Des Moines County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory: data table
Result bandTests MeasuredShare Measured
Under 2 pCi/L11626.6%
2 to 4 pCi/L9722.2%
4 pCi/L and above22351.1%
What these figures count

These are the 436 tests reported to CDC for Des Moines 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).

How to read these figures

Des Moines County, Compared

Des Moines County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

More than half: 51.1% of the 436 radon tests reported to CDC for Des Moines County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 79th of 99 Iowa counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 7.4 points below the 58.5% pooled from 99 Iowa counties.

The median result, 4.2 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 405.3 pCi/L. The rest split 26.6% under 2 pCi/L and 22.2% from 2 to 4 (Iowa: 21.8% and 19.7%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 51.1% share point the same way here.

3 of its 5 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Henderson County, IL at 68.4%; Lee County reported 43.6%. 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 Des Moines County went from 400 tests (2005 to 2014) to 436 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 52.5% to 51.1%.

Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Des Moines County sits 15.4 points above it. CDC also counts 18 tests taken after mitigation in Des Moines County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.

Des Moines County against Iowa, the United States and nearby counties, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Des Moines County
Des Moines County43651.1%4.2 pCi/LThis county
Iowa, pooled99 counties, pooled95,24558.5%Not pooled+7.4 points
United States, pooled2,661 counties, pooled2,013,54435.7%Not pooled−15.4 points
Sioux Countyhighest in the state1,98284.2%10.7 pCi/L+33.1 points
Decatur Countylowest in the state8525.9%2.5 pCi/L−25.2 points
Henderson County, ILborders it3868.4%5.7 pCi/L+17.3 points
Mercer County, ILborders it34367.1%6.8 pCi/L+16.0 points
Louisa County, IAborders it9652.1%4.1 pCi/L+1.0 points
Henry County, IAborders it16846.4%3.4 pCi/L−4.7 points
Lee County, IAborders it35143.6%3.2 pCi/L−7.5 points
Where Des Moines County's reported results fell, 2008 to 2017, laboratory, beside Iowa and the United States
ResultDes Moines County testsDes Moines County shareIowa shareU.S. shareAgainst Iowa
Under 2 pCi/L11626.6%21.8%39.6%+4.8 points
2 to 4 pCi/L9722.2%19.7%24.7%+2.5 points
4 pCi/L and above22351.1%58.5%35.7%−7.4 points
Des Moines County ranked among the 99 Iowa counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Bremer County74 of 9995753.0%4.3 pCi/L
Jackson County75 of 991,05652.7%4.1 pCi/L
Clinton County76 of 991,37552.7%4.3 pCi/L
Louisa County77 of 999652.1%4.1 pCi/L
Buchanan County78 of 9956451.2%4.1 pCi/L
Des Moines County79 of 9943651.1%4.2 pCi/L
Delaware County80 of 9952050.0%4.0 pCi/L
Black Hawk County81 of 993,22348.4%3.8 pCi/L
Dubuque County82 of 993,77546.8%3.6 pCi/L
Muscatine County83 of 9995446.5%3.7 pCi/L
Henry County84 of 9916846.4%3.4 pCi/L
Des Moines County ten-year laboratory totals, against Iowa's pooled share
PeriodTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestIowa, pooledChange from the row before
2008 to 201743651.1%4.2 pCi/L405.3 pCi/L58.5%−0.6 points
2007 to 201645151.7%4.2 pCi/L405.3 pCi/L58.6%−1.0 points
2006 to 201544252.7%4.3 pCi/L405.3 pCi/L59.4%+0.2 points
2005 to 201440052.5%4.2 pCi/L405.3 pCi/L59.6%First on file

Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.

Des Moines County, Geology

The ground under Des Moines County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Des Moines County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Loess-Covered Drift Plains, to which USGS gives a radon index of 13, in the high band (12 to 17).

USGS's geologic areas under Des Moines County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Loess-Covered Drift PlainsPre-Illinoian and Illinoian glacial deposits, and loess.High1399.8%

Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.

Des Moines County beside the ground around it

On high-potential ground Des Moines County is close to Iowa as a whole: 100% of its land against 98.8%. Of the 5 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Henry County comes nearest at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Des Moines County, the 5 counties bordering it and Iowa
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Des Moines CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Henderson County, ILZone 1NoneNone100%
Henry CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Lee CountyZone 1None0.1%99.9%
Louisa CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Mercer County, ILZone 1NoneNone100%
Iowa99 counties, pooled by land areaVariesNone1.2%98.8%

The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.

Local help

Des Moines County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Des Moines County

Listed radon businesses with an address in Des Moines County:

Listed radon professionals by town: Burlington

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

Des Moines County, Questions

Questions about radon in Des Moines County

Are radon levels high in Des Moines County?

Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 51.1% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Des Moines County, Iowa were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 4.2 pCi/L. Of 99 Iowa counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 78 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 58.5%.

Which counties border Des Moines County?

Des Moines County borders 5 counties: Henderson County, IL, Henry County, IA, Lee County, IA, Louisa County, IA and Mercer County, IL.

Products

Des Moines County, Products

Testing a home in Des Moines County

In Des Moines County, 51.1% of 436 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 Des Moines 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

Des Moines County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Des Moines County

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Des Moines County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Des Moines County

Calculated by Radon411

Des Moines County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Des Moines County

About 38,077 people live in Des Moines County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 772 fewer than in 2020 (−2.0%). That works out to 92 people per square mile of land. Burlington alone is home to 23,336 of them, 61.3% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 77.8% of those residents; the other 22.2% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 436 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 11.5 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Iowa as a whole comes to 29.4.

From Burlington to Middletown, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Des Moines County's.

The cities and towns in Des Moines County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Burlington23,336−2.6%61.3%
West Burlington3,358+5.0%8.8%
Mediapolis1,660−1.3%4.4%
Danville896−5.8%2.4%
Middletown361−0.8%0.9%

5 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).

Des Moines County, Homes

Homes in Des Moines County

Des Moines County is a place of houses on their own lots: 78% of its 18,778 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Iowa. The homes are older than Iowa's as a whole: half were built before 1958 (1971 for Iowa), and 53% date from before 1960. 73% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Iowa: 72%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Des Moines County, Iowa, 2019 to 2023
HomesDes Moines CountyIowa
Housing units18,7781,427,175
Detached houses78%72%
In buildings of 5 or more8%14%
Mobile homes4%3%
Built before 196053%39%
Built since 200011%21%
Middle year built19581971
Owner-occupied73%72%

Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.