Short-term kit
RA400 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Jackson County, Kentucky
EPA puts Jackson County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 11 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Highest bordering
44.1%
Estill County
- Estill
- 44.1%
- Laurel
- 22.0%
3 of 7 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2008 to 2017
Nearest county
44.1%
Estill County, 19 miles
- Estill
- 44.1%
- Kentucky
- 43.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 177 tests, 2008 to 2017
Ground above low
100.0%
5.7 pts above Kentucky
- Jackson
- 100.0%
- Kentucky
- 94.3%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
11
Too few for a share
- Jackson
- 11
- Needed
- 30
2008 to 2017, laboratory
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 Jackson 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
Jackson County, At a glance
Jackson County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Jackson 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 Jackson County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 11 reported tests for Jackson County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 1.8 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Jackson County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 11 tests were reported to CDC for Jackson County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), 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: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Jackson County, Compared
Jackson County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Jackson County rests on 11 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 9.1 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 2.8 pCi/L, with a middle value of 1.8 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Estill County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 44.1%, and Laurel County the smallest, 22.0%, with Madison County at 38.7% between. Farther out, Garrard County (33 miles away) at 39.6%, Lincoln County (36 miles away) at 35.6% and Breathitt County (38 miles away) at 19.1% have figures too. Pooled across 120 Kentucky counties, 43.7% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 35.7%.
Statewide for the same period, Meade County reported the highest share (68.4%) and Hopkins County the lowest (9.5%). EPA's 1993 map puts Jackson 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.
Jackson County, Geology
The ground under Jackson County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Jackson County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. The map puts 67.2% of Jackson County in the area it calls Cumberland Plateau and 32.8% in Mississippian Plateau. USGS gives the first a radon index of 9 and the second 11, both in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumberland Plateau | Pennsylvanian sandstones, siltstones, and shales. | Moderate | 9 | 67.2% |
| Mississippian Plateau | Mississippian marine limestones, dolomites, marine sandstones, siltstones, and shales. | Moderate | 11 | 32.8% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Jackson County beside the ground around it
Across Kentucky 18.2% of the land is rated high; none of Jackson County's is. Of the 7 counties that border it, 3 have more high-potential ground, Estill County the most at 42.7%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Jackson County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Jackson County
- Kentucky's radon programKentucky Board of Radon SafetyKentucky's radon program answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Kentucky.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 Kentucky8 professionals are listed in Kentucky.
What Kentucky's program says
- Phone
- 502-782-2782
- Radon@ky.gov
What it means
Jackson County, Questions
Questions about radon in Jackson County
Are radon levels high in Jackson County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Jackson County, Kentucky were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.8 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Estill County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 44.1%, and Laurel County the smallest, 22.0%, with Madison County at 38.7% between.
Which counties border Jackson County?
Jackson County borders 7 counties: Owsley County, Rockcastle County, Laurel County, Estill County, Lee County, Clay County and Madison County.
Products
Jackson County, Products
Testing a home in Jackson County
No CDC figure names Jackson County; the nearest county with one, Estill County (19 miles away), reported 44.1% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 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 Jackson 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
Monitor
Hello Radon C battery radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Screen
Method: Alpha spectrometry
First reading: Within 24 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Jackson County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Jackson County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Owsley CountyEPA zone 2
62.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 18.3 pCi/L · 8 tests
- Radon levels in Estill CountyEPA zone 2
44.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.2 pCi/L · 177 tests
- Radon levels in Rockcastle CountyEPA zone 2
42.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.0 pCi/L · 14 tests
- Radon levels in Madison CountyEPA zone 2
38.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.9 pCi/L · 604 tests
- Radon levels in Laurel CountyEPA zone 2
22.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 100 tests
- Radon levels in Clay CountyEPA zone 2
20.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.1 pCi/L · 10 tests
- Radon levels in Lee CountyEPA zone 2
5.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.2 pCi/L · 18 tests
Jackson County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Jackson County
The Census Bureau estimates 13,325 residents in Jackson County for July 1, 2025, 356 more than in 2020 (+2.7%). That works out to 39 people per square mile of land. McKee, its one incorporated place, has 822 residents, 6.2% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 11 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.8 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kentucky as a whole comes to 6.3.
McKee is the one incorporated place here; CDC publishes no figure by town, so it reads Jackson County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| McKee | 822 | +0.2% | 6.2% |
One incorporated place, 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).
Jackson County, Homes
Homes in Jackson County
Of Jackson County's 5,999 homes, 68% are detached houses, against 68% across Kentucky; 25% are mobile homes. Much of Jackson County is recent building: 33% of its homes have gone up since 2000 and the middle year built is 1992, against 1982 for Kentucky. Owners live in 80% of the occupied homes (Kentucky: 68%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Jackson County | Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 5,999 | 2,010,655 |
| Detached houses | 68% | 68% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 4% | 12% |
| Mobile homes | 25% | 11% |
| Built before 1960 | 10% | 22% |
| Built since 2000 | 33% | 24% |
| Middle year built | 1992 | 1982 |
| Owner-occupied | 80% | 68% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.