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 Rooks County, Kansas
EPA puts Rooks County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 5 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
50.0%
18.2 pts above KS
- Rooks
- 50.0%
- Kansas
- 31.8%
66 tests, 2021
Median result
3.8pCi/L
Below action level
- Rooks
- 3.8 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2021
Tests reported
66
43rd of 62 by tests
- Rooks
- 66
- 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
19 of 62
Middle half
- Rooks
- 50.0%
- Norton
- 93.8%
By share, of 62 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Rooks County
Starts at Rooks County's median, 3.8 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 3.8 pCi/L
Between 2 and 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Rooks County's median reported result, 2021.
The data
Rooks County, At a glance
Rooks County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Rooks 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 Rooks County, 2022
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 50.0% |
| 2017 | 50.0% |
| 2018 | 40.0% |
| 2019 | 77.8% |
| 2020 | 30.0% |
| 2021 | 50.0% |
| 2022 | 60.0% |
2022: 60.0%. Across these years the share ran from 30.0% to 77.8%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 5 tests were reported to CDC for Rooks 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).
Rooks County, Compared
Rooks County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 50.0% of the 66 radon tests reported to CDC for Rooks County in 2021 read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 19th of 62 Kansas counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 18.2 points above the 31.8% pooled from 96 Kansas counties.
The newest figure, in 2022, counts only 5 tests (60.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 66-test figure.
The median result, 3.8 pCi/L, sits between 2 and EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 20.0 pCi/L. The rest split 13.6% under 2 pCi/L and 36.4% from 2 to 4 (Kansas: 45.3% and 22.9%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 50.0% share point the same way here.
1 of its 2 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Phillips County at 72.7%; Ellis County reported 43.5%. Statewide for the same period, Norton County reported the highest share (93.8%) and Doniphan County the lowest (0.0%).
The busiest year on file was 2021, with 66 tests reported; the quietest, 2022, had 5.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 24.4%; Rooks County sits 25.6 points above it.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Rooks County, Geology
The ground under Rooks County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Rooks County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. The map puts 83.2% of Rooks County in the area it calls Smoky Hills and 16.8% in Ogallala Formation. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoky Hills | Cretaceous marine sandstone, shale, and siltstone covered by discontinuous loess deposits. | High | 12 | 83.2% |
| Ogallala Formation | Tertiary sandstone, in part covered by windblown eolian sand and loess deposits. | High | 12 | 16.8% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Rooks County beside the ground around it
Rooks 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; Graham County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Rooks County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Rooks 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
Rooks County, Questions
Questions about radon in Rooks County
Are radon levels high in Rooks County?
In 2022, 60.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Rooks County, Kansas were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 4.0 pCi/L. Of 62 Kansas counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 18 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 31.8%.
Which counties border Rooks County?
Rooks County borders 6 counties: Ellis County, Graham County, Osborne County, Phillips County, Smith County and Trego County.
Products
Rooks County, Products
Testing a home in Rooks County
In Rooks County, 50.0% of 66 tests reported to CDC in 2021 reached 4 pCi/L, against 31.8% pooled across Kansas. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Rooks 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
MonitorX-Sense
XR0A-iR Wi-Fi battery radon detector with a screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Wi-Fi
- Screen, app
Method: Alpha spectrometry
First reading: Within 24 hours
Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Rooks County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Rooks County
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Rooks County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Rooks County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Smith CountyEPA zone 1
87.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.6 pCi/L · 24 tests · 37.5 points above Rooks County
- Radon levels in Graham CountyEPA zone 1
75.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.3 pCi/L · 12 tests · 25.0 points above Rooks County
- Radon levels in Trego CountyEPA zone 1
75.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.4 pCi/L · 12 tests · 25.0 points above Rooks County
- Radon levels in Phillips CountyEPA zone 1
72.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.0 pCi/L · 33 tests · 22.7 points above Rooks County
- Radon levels in Ellis CountyEPA zone 1
43.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.5 pCi/L · 780 tests · 6.5 points below Rooks County
- Radon levels in Osborne CountyEPA zone 1
14.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.2 pCi/L · 21 tests · 35.7 points below Rooks County
Rooks County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Rooks County
About 4,646 people live in Rooks County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 240 fewer than in 2020 (−4.9%). Spread over its land, that is 5.2 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Plainville, has 1,657 residents, 35.7% of the total. Together its 6 incorporated places hold 75.9% of those residents; the other 24.1% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 66 tests over 2021, or 14.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kansas as a whole comes to 23.5.
From Plainville to Zurich, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Rooks County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plainville | 1,657 | −4.6% | 35.7% |
| Stockton | 1,400 | −4.9% | 30.1% |
| Palco | 196 | −5.8% | 4.2% |
| Damar | 107 | −4.5% | 2.3% |
| Woodston | 87 | −5.4% | 1.9% |
| Zurich | 79 | −4.8% | 1.7% |
6 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).
Rooks County, Homes
Homes in Rooks County
Rooks County is a place of houses on their own lots: 89% of its 2,643 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Kansas. The homes are older than Kansas' as a whole: half were built before 1954 (1975 for Kansas), and 63% date from before 1960. 74% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Kansas: 67%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Rooks County | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 2,643 | 1,285,221 |
| Detached houses | 89% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 3% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 3% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 63% | 33% |
| Built since 2000 | 6% | 20% |
| Middle year built | 1954 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 74% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.