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Radon Levels in Palo Alto County, Iowa

EPA puts Palo Alto County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 70.8% of the 462 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

How to test this homeFind a certified tester

  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    70.8%

    12.3 pts above IA

    Palo Alto
    70.8%
    Iowa
    58.5%

    462 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    5.9pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Palo Alto
    5.9 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Tests reported

    462

    52nd of 99 by tests

    Palo Alto
    462
    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

    25 of 99

    Top quarter

    Palo Alto
    70.8%
    Sioux
    84.2%

    By share, of 99 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Palo Alto County

Starts at Palo Alto County's median, 5.9 pCi/L

5.9pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 5.9 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. Palo Alto County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Palo Alto County, At a glance

Palo Alto County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential

EPA puts all of Palo Alto 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 Palo Alto County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory

Reported results by concentration band, Palo Alto County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 10%2 to 4 pCi/L: 19%4 pCi/L and above: 71%

Of 462 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.

Reported results by concentration band, Palo Alto County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory: data table
Result bandTests MeasuredShare Measured
Under 2 pCi/L4610.0%
2 to 4 pCi/L8919.3%
4 pCi/L and above32770.8%
What these figures count

These are the 462 tests reported to CDC for Palo Alto 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

Palo Alto County, Compared

Palo Alto County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

More than half: 70.8% of the 462 radon tests reported to CDC for Palo Alto County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 25th of 99 Iowa counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 12.3 points above the 58.5% pooled from 99 Iowa counties.

The median result, 5.9 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 81.3 pCi/L. The rest split 10.0% under 2 pCi/L and 19.3% from 2 to 4 (Iowa: 21.8% and 19.7%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 70.8% share point the same way here.

3 of its 7 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Clay County at 79.4%; Kossuth County reported 66.1%. 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 Palo Alto County went from 351 tests (2005 to 2014) to 462 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 74.4% to 70.8%.

Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Palo Alto County sits 35.1 points above it. CDC also counts 21 tests taken after mitigation in Palo Alto County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.

Palo Alto County against Iowa, the United States and nearby counties, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Palo Alto County
Palo Alto County46270.8%5.9 pCi/LThis county
Iowa, pooled99 counties, pooled95,24558.5%Not pooled−12.3 points
United States, pooled2,661 counties, pooled2,013,54435.7%Not pooled−35.1 points
Sioux Countyhighest in the state1,98284.2%10.7 pCi/L+13.4 points
Decatur Countylowest in the state8525.9%2.5 pCi/L−44.9 points
Clay County, IAborders it74479.4%9.6 pCi/L+8.6 points
Buena Vista County, IAborders it68872.1%6.9 pCi/L+1.3 points
Emmet County, IAborders it42071.0%6.3 pCi/L+0.2 points
Dickinson County, IAborders it83170.3%7.0 pCi/L−0.5 points
Humboldt County, IAborders it38570.1%7.0 pCi/L−0.7 points
Pocahontas County, IAborders it41768.8%6.4 pCi/L−2.0 points
Kossuth County, IAborders it43466.1%5.7 pCi/L−4.7 points
Where Palo Alto County's reported results fell, 2008 to 2017, laboratory, beside Iowa and the United States
ResultPalo Alto County testsPalo Alto County shareIowa shareU.S. shareAgainst Iowa
Under 2 pCi/L4610.0%21.8%39.6%−11.8 points
2 to 4 pCi/L8919.3%19.7%24.7%−0.4 points
4 pCi/L and above32770.8%58.5%35.7%+12.3 points
Palo Alto 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
Ida County20 of 9939971.7%7.4 pCi/L
Page County21 of 9965371.7%7.2 pCi/L
Greene County22 of 9914371.3%6.2 pCi/L
Emmet County23 of 9942071.0%6.3 pCi/L
Guthrie County24 of 9925770.8%6.9 pCi/L
Palo Alto County25 of 9946270.8%5.9 pCi/L
Mitchell County26 of 9944470.7%6.4 pCi/L
Poweshiek County27 of 9941970.6%7.2 pCi/L
Dickinson County28 of 9983170.3%7.0 pCi/L
Marshall County29 of 9957070.2%8.2 pCi/L
Humboldt County30 of 9938570.1%7.0 pCi/L
Palo Alto County ten-year laboratory totals, against Iowa's pooled share
PeriodTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestIowa, pooledChange from the row before
2008 to 201746270.8%5.9 pCi/L81.3 pCi/L58.5%−0.6 points
2007 to 201642771.4%6.2 pCi/L81.3 pCi/L58.6%−1.8 points
2006 to 201540373.2%6.5 pCi/L81.3 pCi/L59.4%−1.2 points
2005 to 201435174.4%6.7 pCi/L81.3 pCi/L59.6%First on file

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

Palo Alto County, Geology

The ground under Palo Alto County

Predicted

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

USGS's geologic areas under Palo Alto County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Des Moines LobeCalcareous loamy till derived from shale, limestone, dolomite, sandstone.High12100%

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

Palo Alto County beside the ground around it

On high-potential ground Palo Alto County is close to Iowa as a whole: 100% of its land against 98.8%. Of the 7 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Clay County comes nearest at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Palo Alto County, the 7 counties bordering it and Iowa
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Palo Alto CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Emmet CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Pocahontas CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Clay CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Kossuth CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Dickinson CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Humboldt CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Buena Vista CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Iowa99 counties, pooled by land areaVariesNone1.2%98.8%

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

Local help

Palo Alto County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Palo Alto County

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

Palo Alto County, Questions

Questions about radon in Palo Alto County

Are radon levels high in Palo Alto County?

Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 70.8% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Palo Alto County, Iowa were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.9 pCi/L. Of 99 Iowa counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 24 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 58.5%.

Which counties border Palo Alto County?

Palo Alto County borders 7 counties: Emmet County, Pocahontas County, Clay County, Kossuth County, Dickinson County, Humboldt County and Buena Vista County.

Products

Palo Alto County, Products

Testing a home in Palo Alto County

In Palo Alto County, 70.8% of 462 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 Palo Alto 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

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

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Palo Alto County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Palo Alto County

Calculated by Radon411

Palo Alto County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Palo Alto County

About 8,899 people live in Palo Alto County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 91 fewer than in 2020 (−1.0%). That works out to 16 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Emmetsburg, has 3,684 residents, 41.4% of the total. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 462 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 come to 51.9 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 29.4 for Iowa.

From Emmetsburg to Rodman, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Palo Alto County's.

The cities and towns in Palo Alto County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Emmetsburg3,684−0.3%41.4%
Graettinger818−1.7%9.2%
West Bendextends beyond Palo Alto County775−1.8%Counted whole
Ruthven714−1.9%8.0%
Mallard259−1.9%2.9%
Ayrshire133−3.6%1.5%
Cylinder85−2.3%1.0%
Curlew38−2.6%0.4%
Rodman29−3.3%0.3%

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 Palo Alto County is counted whole, so it has no share.

Palo Alto County, Homes

Homes in Palo Alto County

Palo Alto County is a place of houses on their own lots: 84% of its 4,517 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Iowa. The homes are older than Iowa's as a whole: half were built before 1957 (1971 for Iowa), and 53% date from before 1960. Owners live in 76% of the occupied homes (Iowa: 72%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Palo Alto County, Iowa, 2019 to 2023
HomesPalo Alto CountyIowa
Housing units4,5171,427,175
Detached houses84%72%
In buildings of 5 or more7%14%
Mobile homes2%3%
Built before 196053%39%
Built since 20009%21%
Middle year built19571971
Owner-occupied76%72%

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