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 Norton County, Kansas
EPA puts Norton County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 12 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2022). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
93.8%
62.0 pts above KS
- Norton
- 93.8%
- Kansas
- 31.8%
48 tests, 2021
Median result
7.3pCi/L
Action level reached
- Norton
- 7.3 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2021
Tests reported
48
47th of 62 by tests
- Norton
- 48
- Johnson
- 25,860
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2021
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Kansas
1 of 62
Top quarter
- Norton
- 93.8%
- Norton
- 93.8%
By share, of 62 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Norton County
Starts at Norton County's median, 7.3 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 7.3 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. Norton County's median reported result, 2021.
The data
Norton County, At a glance
Norton County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Norton 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 Norton County, 2022
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 57.1% |
| 2017 | 76.5% |
| 2018 | 62.5% |
| 2019 | 90.0% |
| 2020 | 45.5% |
| 2021 | 93.8% |
| 2022 | 41.7% |
2022: 41.7%. Across these years the share ran from 41.7% to 93.8%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 12 tests were reported to CDC for Norton County over 2022, 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: 2022. Measured data period: 2016 to 2022 (every CDC figure on file).
Norton County, Compared
Norton County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 93.8% of the 48 radon tests reported to CDC for Norton County in 2021 read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 1st of 62 Kansas counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 62.0 points above the 31.8% pooled from 96 Kansas counties.
The newest figure, in 2022, counts only 12 tests (41.7% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 48-test figure.
The median result, 7.3 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 32.0 pCi/L. The rest split 0.0% under 2 pCi/L and 6.3% from 2 to 4 (Kansas: 45.3% and 22.9%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 93.8% share point the same way here.
No bordering county with a figure for the same period reported a higher share; the closest is Decatur County at 86.7%, the lowest Harlan County, NE at 66.7%. Statewide for the same period, Decatur County reported the highest share (86.7%) and Doniphan County the lowest (0.0%).
The busiest year on file was 2021, with 48 tests reported; the quietest, 2019, had 10.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 24.4%; Norton County sits 69.4 points above it.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Norton County, Geology
The ground under Norton County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Norton County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. The map puts 88.1% of Norton County in the area it calls Ogallala Formation and 11.9% in Smoky Hills. USGS gives both a radon index of 12, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ogallala Formation | Tertiary sandstone, in part covered by windblown eolian sand and loess deposits. | High | 12 | 88.1% |
| Smoky Hills | Cretaceous marine sandstone, shale, and siltstone covered by discontinuous loess deposits. | High | 12 | 11.9% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Norton County beside the ground around it
Norton County has more high-potential ground than Kansas as a whole: 100% of its land against 59.9%. Of the 6 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Decatur County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Norton County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Norton 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
Norton County, Questions
Questions about radon in Norton County
Are radon levels high in Norton County?
In 2022, 41.7% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Norton County, Kansas were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 3.3 pCi/L. Of 62 Kansas counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, none reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 31.8%.
Which counties border Norton County?
Norton County borders 6 counties: Furnas County, NE, Phillips County, KS, Decatur County, KS, Graham County, KS, Harlan County, NE and Sheridan County, KS.
Products
Norton County, Products
Testing a home in Norton County
In Norton County, 93.8% of 48 tests reported to CDC in 2021 reached 4 pCi/L, against 31.8% pooled across Kansas. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Norton 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
MonitorAEGTEST
HOUND-1011S rechargeable radon detector with a screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 12 hours
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
Norton County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Norton County
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Norton County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Norton County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Furnas County, NEEPA zone 1
100.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.6 pCi/L · 12 tests · 6.2 points above Norton County
- Radon levels in Sheridan County, KSEPA zone 1
100.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.8 pCi/L · 9 tests · 6.2 points above Norton County
- Radon levels in Decatur County, KSEPA zone 1
86.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.8 pCi/L · 45 tests · 7.1 points below Norton County
- Radon levels in Graham County, KSEPA zone 1
75.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.3 pCi/L · 12 tests · 18.8 points below Norton County
- Radon levels in Phillips County, KSEPA zone 1
72.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.0 pCi/L · 33 tests · 21.1 points below Norton County
- Radon levels in Harlan County, NEEPA zone 1
66.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.5 pCi/L · 36 tests · 27.1 points below Norton County
Norton County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Norton County
About 5,288 people live in Norton County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 164 fewer than in 2020 (−3.0%). Spread over its land, that is 6.0 people to the square mile. Norton alone is home to 2,651 of them, 50.1% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 48 tests over 2021, or 9.1 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kansas as a whole comes to 23.5.
From Norton to Edmond, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Norton County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norton | 2,651 | −3.6% | 50.1% |
| Almena | 348 | −4.1% | 6.6% |
| Lenora | 195 | −3.9% | 3.7% |
| Claytonextends beyond Norton County | 45 | −2.2% | Counted whole |
| Edmond | 25 | −3.8% | 0.5% |
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). A place that extends beyond Norton County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Norton County, Homes
Homes in Norton County
Norton County is a place of houses on their own lots: 90% of its 2,454 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Kansas. The homes are older than Kansas' as a whole: half were built before 1951 (1975 for Kansas), and 58% date from before 1960. Owners live in 81% of the occupied homes (Kansas: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Norton County | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 2,454 | 1,285,221 |
| Detached houses | 90% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 2% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 3% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 58% | 33% |
| Built since 2000 | 7% | 20% |
| Middle year built | 1951 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 81% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.