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Radon Levels in Boyd County, Kentucky

EPA puts Boyd County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 17.9% of its 168 reported radon tests (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) 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

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  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    17.9%

    25.8 pts below KY

    Boyd
    17.9%
    Kentucky
    43.7%

    168 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    2.1pCi/L

    Below action level

    Boyd
    2.1 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Tests reported

    168

    25th of 69 by tests

    Boyd
    168
    Jefferson
    6,590

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Kentucky

    64 of 69

    Lowest quarter

    Boyd
    17.9%
    Meade
    68.4%

    By share, of 69 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Boyd County

Starts at Boyd County's median, 2.1 pCi/L

2.1pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 2.1 pCi/L

Between 2 and 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 between 2 and 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Boyd County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Boyd County, At a glance

Boyd County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Boyd County is a county: EPA's forecast for it as a whole is an average indoor of 2 to 4 pCi/L (75 to 150 Bq/m³). It describes no single address, and homes above EPA's are found in every zone, this one included.

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 Boyd County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory

Reported results by concentration band, Boyd County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 44%2 to 4 pCi/L: 38%4 pCi/L and above: 18%

Of 168 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.

Reported results by concentration band, Boyd County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory: data table
Result bandTests MeasuredShare Measured
Under 2 pCi/L7444.0%
2 to 4 pCi/L6438.1%
4 pCi/L and above3017.9%
What these figures count

These are the 168 tests reported to CDC for Boyd 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

Boyd County, Compared

Boyd County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

Boyd County's 168 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 2.1 pCi/L and a maximum of 25.0 pCi/L, and 17.9% reached 4 pCi/L. Kentucky as a whole (120 Kentucky counties, pooled) comes to 43.7%: 25.8 points higher than here.

Among its state's counties it ranks 64th of 69 Kentucky counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Meade County reported the highest share (68.4%) and Hopkins County the lowest (9.5%).

Below the action level, 74 tests (44.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 33.2% statewide, and 64 tests (38.1%) fell between 2 and 4, against 23.1% statewide. CDC's ten-year totals for Boyd County went from 102 tests (2005 to 2014) to 168 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 22.5% to 17.9%.

EPA's 1993 zone map puts Boyd County in Zone 2, a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.

Next door, the shares run from 12.5% in Greenup County to 31.7% in Carter County, with Greenup County below Boyd County.

CDC also counts 12 tests taken after mitigation in Boyd County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.

Boyd County against Kentucky, the United States and nearby counties, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Boyd County
Boyd County16817.9%2.1 pCi/LThis county
Kentucky, pooled120 counties, pooled28,79343.7%Not pooled+25.8 points
United States, pooled2,661 counties, pooled2,013,54435.7%Not pooled+17.8 points
Meade Countyhighest in the state11768.4%8.2 pCi/L+50.5 points
Hopkins Countylowest in the state429.5%1.7 pCi/L−8.4 points
Carter County, KYborders it4131.7%2.2 pCi/L+13.8 points
Lawrence County, OHborders it6630.3%2.5 pCi/L+12.4 points
Wayne County, WVborders it1915.8%1.7 pCi/L−2.1 points
Greenup County, KYborders it10412.5%2.0 pCi/L−5.4 points
Lawrence County, KYborders it90.0%1.7 pCi/L−17.9 points
Where Boyd County's reported results fell, 2008 to 2017, laboratory, beside Kentucky and the United States
ResultBoyd County testsBoyd County shareKentucky shareU.S. shareAgainst Kentucky
Under 2 pCi/L7444.0%33.2%39.6%+10.8 points
2 to 4 pCi/L6438.1%23.1%24.7%+15.0 points
4 pCi/L and above3017.9%43.7%35.7%−25.8 points
Boyd County ranked among the 69 Kentucky counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Menifee County59 of 694122.0%1.4 pCi/L
Edmonson County60 of 696221.0%1.6 pCi/L
Daviess County61 of 6914520.0%1.8 pCi/L
Breathitt County62 of 694719.1%1.7 pCi/L
Rowan County63 of 697418.9%1.6 pCi/L
Boyd County64 of 6916817.9%2.1 pCi/L
Todd County65 of 696217.7%1.8 pCi/L
Pike County66 of 698217.1%1.1 pCi/L
Greenup County67 of 6910412.5%2.0 pCi/L
Marshall County68 of 698510.6%1.5 pCi/L
Hopkins County69 of 69429.5%1.7 pCi/L
Boyd County ten-year laboratory totals, against Kentucky's pooled share
PeriodTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestKentucky, pooledChange from the row before
2008 to 201716817.9%2.1 pCi/L25.0 pCi/L43.7%−1.7 points
2007 to 201614819.6%2.2 pCi/L25.0 pCi/L45.1%−2.0 points
2006 to 201511621.6%2.3 pCi/L12.9 pCi/L46.4%−0.9 points
2005 to 201410222.5%2.5 pCi/L12.9 pCi/L47.3%First on file

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

Boyd County, Geology

The ground under Boyd County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Boyd County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Central Allegheny Plateau, to which USGS gives a radon index of 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Boyd County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Central Allegheny PlateauPermian and Pennsylvanian shale, siltstone, sandstone, minor limestone.Moderate1099.8%

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

Boyd County beside the ground around it

Across Kentucky 18.2% of the land is rated high; none of Boyd County's is. Of the 5 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Greenup County the most at 0.5%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Boyd County, the 5 counties bordering it and Kentucky
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Boyd CountyZone 2None100%None
Carter CountyZone 2None100%None
Greenup CountyZone 2None99.5%0.5%
Lawrence County, OHZone 2None99.9%0.1%
Lawrence CountyZone 2None100%None
Wayne County, WVZone 214.1%85.9%None
Kentucky120 counties, pooled by land areaVaries5.7%76.1%18.2%

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

Local help

Boyd County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Boyd County

What Kentucky's program says
Phone
502-782-2782
Email
Radon@ky.gov

What it means

Boyd County, Questions

Questions about radon in Boyd County

Are radon levels high in Boyd County?

Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 17.9% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Boyd County, Kentucky were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.1 pCi/L. Of 69 Kentucky counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 63 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 43.7%.

Which counties border Boyd County?

Boyd County borders 5 counties: Carter County, KY, Greenup County, KY, Lawrence County, OH, Lawrence County, KY and Wayne County, WV.

Products

Boyd County, Products

Testing a home in Boyd County

In Boyd County, 17.9% of 168 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 43.7% pooled across Kentucky. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Boyd County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Boyd County homes, compared

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Boyd County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Boyd County

Calculated by Radon411

Boyd County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Boyd County

About 47,751 people live in Boyd County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 458 fewer than in 2020 (−1.0%). That works out to 299 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Ashland, has 20,996 residents, 44.0% of the total. Together its 2 incorporated places hold 47.6% of those residents; the other 52.4% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 168 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 3.5 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kentucky as a whole comes to 6.3.

From Ashland to Catlettsburg, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Boyd County's.

The cities and towns in Boyd County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Ashland20,996−2.8%44.0%
Catlettsburg1,722−2.7%3.6%

2 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).

Boyd County, Homes

Homes in Boyd County

Boyd County is a place of houses on their own lots: 75% of its 21,731 homes are detached single-family houses, against 68% across Kentucky. The homes are older than Kentucky's as a whole: half were built before 1971 (1982 for Kentucky), and 31% date from before 1960. 68% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Kentucky: 68%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Boyd County, Kentucky, 2019 to 2023
HomesBoyd CountyKentucky
Housing units21,7312,010,655
Detached houses75%68%
In buildings of 5 or more9%12%
Mobile homes10%11%
Built before 196031%22%
Built since 200011%24%
Middle year built19711982
Owner-occupied68%68%

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