Short-term kitempowerDX
Standard Radon Test short-term mail-in radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Passive sampler
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Elk County, Kansas
EPA puts Elk County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 6 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2021). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Highest bordering
41.6%
Cowley County
- Cowley
- 41.6%
- Butler
- 27.8%
2 of 6 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2019
Nearest county
41.6%
Cowley County, 36 miles
- Cowley
- 41.6%
- Kansas
- 33.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 101 tests, 2019
Ground above low
100.0%
Level with Kansas
- Elk
- 100.0%
- Kansas
- 100.0%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
6
Too few for a share
- Elk
- 6
- Needed
- 30
2021
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for Elk County
Starts at EPA's action level
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.0 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.
The data
Elk County, At a glance
Elk County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Elk 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 Elk County, 2021
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 50.0% |
| 2021 | 50.0% |
2021: 50.0%. Across these years the share ran from 50.0% to 50.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 6 tests were reported to CDC for Elk County over 2021, 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: 2021. Measured data period: 2019 to 2021 (every CDC figure on file).
Elk County, Compared
Elk County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Elk County rests on 6 tests in 2021, 3 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 16.7 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 17.0 pCi/L, with a middle value of 9.8 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 2 have a figure in 2019: Cowley County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 41.6%, and Butler County the smallest, 27.8%. Farther out, Sedgwick County (69 miles away) at 24.0%, Lyon County (69 miles away) at 38.0% and Sumner County (69 miles away) at 32.8% have figures too. Pooled across 102 Kansas counties, 33.7% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 29.0%.
Statewide for the same period, Jewell County reported the highest share (71.9%) and Reno County the lowest (20.8%). EPA's 1993 map puts Elk County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Elk County, Geology
The ground under Elk County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Elk County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Glaciated Area, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glaciated Area | Glacial till underlain by Pennsylvanian and Permian marine and nonmarine sedimentary shale, sandstone, limestone, coal. | 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.
Elk County beside the ground around it
Across Kansas 59.9% of the land is rated high; none of Elk County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, none has as large a share of moderate-potential ground; Butler County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Elk County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Elk County
- Kansas Radon ProgramKansas Radon Program answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Kansas.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 Kansas178 professionals are listed in Kansas.
What Kansas's program says
- Phone
- (800) 693-5343
What it means
Elk County, Questions
Questions about radon in Elk County
Are radon levels high in Elk County?
In 2021, 50.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Elk County, Kansas were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 9.8 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 2 have a figure in 2019: Cowley County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 41.6%, and Butler County the smallest, 27.8%.
Which counties border Elk County?
Elk County borders 6 counties: Chautauqua County, Wilson County, Greenwood County, Montgomery County, Cowley County and Butler County.
Products
Elk County, Products
Testing a home in Elk County
No CDC figure names Elk County; the nearest county with one, Cowley County (36 miles away), reported 41.6% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L in 2019, the only reading nearby until a test of this home. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Elk 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
MonitorKidde
Radon Detector (RAB) battery digital radon detector with an alarm
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 12 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Elk County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Elk County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Cowley CountyEPA zone 2
41.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.2 pCi/L · 101 tests
- Radon levels in Butler CountyEPA zone 2
27.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.3 pCi/L · 511 tests
- Radon levels in Greenwood CountyEPA zone 2
16.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.1 pCi/L · 6 tests
- Radon levels in Chautauqua CountyEPA zone 2
14.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.7 pCi/L · 7 tests
- Radon levels in Montgomery CountyEPA zone 2
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.8 pCi/L · 8 tests
- Radon levels in Wilson CountyEPA zone 2
No CDC figure for 2019; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Elk County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Elk County
About 2,458 people live in Elk County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 22 fewer than in 2020 (−0.9%). Spread over its land, that is 3.8 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Howard, has 570 residents, 23.2% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 59.1% of those residents; the other 40.9% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 6 tests over 2021, or 2.4 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kansas as a whole comes to 23.5.
From Howard to Elk Falls, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Elk County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard | 570 | −0.5% | 23.2% |
| Moline | 337 | −1.5% | 13.7% |
| Longton | 284 | −0.4% | 11.6% |
| Grenola | 151 | Level | 6.1% |
| Elk Falls | 110 | −0.9% | 4.5% |
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).
Elk County, Homes
Homes in Elk County
Elk County is a place of houses on their own lots: 83% of its 1,502 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Kansas. The homes are older than Kansas' as a whole: half were built before 1955 (1975 for Kansas), and 57% date from before 1960. Owners live in 78% of the occupied homes (Kansas: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Elk County | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 1,502 | 1,285,221 |
| Detached houses | 83% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 1% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 10% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 57% | 33% |
| Built since 2000 | 10% | 20% |
| Middle year built | 1955 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 78% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.