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
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Rice County, Kansas
EPA puts Rice County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 28.3% of its 53 reported radon tests (2022) were 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
28.3%
3.7 pts below KS
- Rice
- 28.3%
- Kansas
- 32.0%
53 tests, 2022
Median result
1.8pCi/L
Below action level
- Rice
- 1.8 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2022
Tests reported
53
29th of 38 by tests
- Rice
- 53
- Johnson
- 5,240
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2022
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
27 of 38
Middle half
- Rice
- 28.3%
- Mitchell
- 57.4%
By share, of 38 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Rice County
Starts at Rice County's median, 1.8 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.8 pCi/L
Below 2 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Rice County's median reported result, 2022.
The data
Rice County, At a glance
Rice County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Rice County in
USGS geologic potential: High across 83% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Rice County, 2022
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 23.1% |
| 2017 | 38.2% |
| 2018 | 28.6% |
| 2019 | 55.9% |
| 2020 | 39.3% |
| 2021 | 50.0% |
| 2022 | 28.3% |
2022: 28.3%. Across these years the share ran from 23.1% to 55.9%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
These are the 53 tests reported to CDC for Rice County over 2022, 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: 2022. Measured data period: 2016 to 2022 (every CDC figure on file).
Rice County, Compared
Rice County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Rice County's 53 reported tests in 2022 had a middle value of 1.8 pCi/L and a maximum of 18.0 pCi/L, and 28.3% reached 4 pCi/L. Kansas as a whole (96 Kansas counties, pooled) comes to 32.0%: 3.7 points higher than here.
Among its state's counties it ranks 27th of 38 Kansas counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Mitchell County reported the highest share (57.4%) and Crawford County the lowest (5.9%).
Below the action level, 30 tests (56.6%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 45.8% statewide, and 8 tests (15.1%) fell between 2 and 4, against 22.1% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2021, with 66 tests reported; the quietest, 2016, had 13.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Rice County in Zone 1, a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 83% of the county's land high radon potential.
Next door, the shares run from 25.4% in Reno County to 53.8% in Barton County, with Reno County below Rice County. Over 5 years of annual figures the share fell 9.9 points, from 38.2% in 2017 to 28.3% in 2022; its peak was 55.9% in 2019.
Rice CountyKansas, pooled
| Year | Tests | Rice County, at or above 4 pCi/L | Kansas, pooled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 34 | 38.2% | 37.3% |
| 2018 | 35 | 28.6% | 37.3% |
| 2019 | 34 | 55.9% | 33.7% |
| 2021 | 66 | 50.0% | 31.8% |
| 2022 | 53 | 28.3% | 32.0% |
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Rice County, Geology
The ground under Rice County
PredictedMost of the ground under Rice County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 83.3% of its land is high radon potential, with 16.7% moderate. The map puts 83.3% of Rice County in the area it calls Smoky Hills and 15.1% in Arkansas River Lowlands, with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 12, in the high band (12 to 17), and the second 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky Hills | Cretaceous marine sandstone, shale, and siltstone covered by discontinuous loess deposits. | High | 12 | 83.3% |
| Arkansas River Lowlands | Dune sands and alluvium. | Moderate | 10 | 15.1% |
| Glaciated Area | Glacial till underlain by Pennsylvanian and Permian marine and nonmarine sedimentary shale, sandstone, limestone, coal. | Moderate | 9 | 1.7% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Rice County beside the ground around it
Rice County has more high-potential ground than Kansas as a whole: 83.3% of its land against 59.9%. Of the 5 counties that border it, 1 has more high-potential ground, Ellsworth County the most at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Rice County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Rice 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
Rice County, Questions
Questions about radon in Rice County
Are radon levels high in Rice County?
In 2022, 28.3% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Rice County, Kansas were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.8 pCi/L. Of 38 Kansas counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 26 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 32.0%.
Which counties border Rice County?
Rice County borders 5 counties: Ellsworth County, Reno County, Barton County, McPherson County and Stafford County.
Products
Rice County, Products
Testing a home in Rice County
In Rice County, 28.3% of 53 tests reported to CDC in 2022 reached 4 pCi/L, against 32.0% pooled across Kansas. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Rice 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
Wave Radon battery smart radon monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- App only
Method: Alpha spectrometry
Short-term kitFirst Alert
RD1 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 2 to 4 days
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Rice County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Rice County
Explore
Rice County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Rice County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Barton CountyEPA zone 1
53.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.1 pCi/L · 39 tests · 25.5 points above Rice County
- Radon levels in McPherson CountyEPA zone 1
51.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.1 pCi/L · 215 tests · 23.3 points above Rice County
- Radon levels in Stafford CountyEPA zone 2
50.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.2 pCi/L · 6 tests · 21.7 points above Rice County
- Radon levels in Ellsworth CountyEPA zone 1
35.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.0 pCi/L · 17 tests · 7.0 points above Rice County
- Radon levels in Reno CountyEPA zone 2
25.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.2 pCi/L · 240 tests · 2.9 points below Rice County
Rice County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Rice County
About 9,266 people live in Rice County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 116 fewer than in 2020 (−1.2%). That works out to 13 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Lyons, has 3,488 residents, 37.6% of the total. CDC's 53 reported tests for 2022 work out to 5.7 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Kansas' 6.2.
From Lyons to Frederick, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Rice County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lyons | 3,488 | −3.1% | 37.6% |
| Sterling | 2,303 | +2.7% | 24.9% |
| Little River | 474 | −0.6% | 5.1% |
| Chase | 393 | −1.0% | 4.2% |
| Geneseo | 226 | −2.6% | 2.4% |
| Bushton | 194 | −4.0% | 2.1% |
| Alden | 118 | −1.7% | 1.3% |
| Raymond | 81 | Level | 0.9% |
- Frederick
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).
Rice County, Homes
Homes in Rice County
Rice County is a place of houses on their own lots: 88% of its 4,384 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 58% date from before 1960. Owners live in 77% of the occupied homes (Kansas: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Rice County | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 4,384 | 1,285,221 |
| Detached houses | 88% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 4% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 3% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 58% | 33% |
| Built since 2000 | 7% | 20% |
| Middle year built | 1955 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 77% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.