Short-term kitempowerDX
Standard Radon Test short-term mail-in radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Passive sampler
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in McCracken County, Kentucky
EPA puts McCracken County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 28 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
15.2%
Massac County
- Massac
- 15.2%
- Marshall
- 10.6%
2 of 7 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2008 to 2017
Nearest county
10.6%
Marshall County, 24 miles
- Marshall
- 10.6%
- Kentucky
- 43.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 85 tests, 2008 to 2017
Ground above low
None
94.3 pts below Kentucky
- McCracken
- 0.0%
- Kentucky
- 94.3%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
28
Too few for a share
- McCracken
- 28
- Needed
- 30
2008 to 2017, laboratory
EPA radon zone
Zone 3
Lower potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for McCracken 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
McCracken County, At a glance
McCracken County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Low across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for McCracken County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 28 reported tests for McCracken County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 1.6 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). McCracken County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 28 tests were reported to CDC for McCracken 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).
McCracken County, Compared
McCracken County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for McCracken County rests on 28 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 6 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 3.6 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 6.5 pCi/L, with a middle value of 1.6 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 2 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Massac County, IL reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 15.2%, and Marshall County the smallest, 10.6%. Farther out, Trigg County (50 miles away) at 22.2%, Hopkins County (67 miles away) at 9.5% and Christian County (69 miles away) at 36.1% 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 McCracken County in Zone 3, its lowest label: a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land low radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
McCracken County, Geology
The ground under McCracken County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of McCracken County's mapped land in one class: low radon potential. 99.3% of it lies in the area the map calls Jackson Purchase, to which USGS gives a radon index of 6, in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Purchase | Cretaceous and Tertiary marine and continental gravels, sands, silts, and clays, overlain by alluvium and loess. | Low | 6 | 99.3% |
| Coastal Plain Province | Cretaceous marine sediments and Quaternary alluvium. | Low | 8 | 0.6% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
McCracken County beside the ground around it
Across Kentucky 18.2% of the land is rated high; none of McCracken County's is. Of the 7 counties that border it, 4 have more moderate-potential ground, Livingston County the most at 98.5%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
McCracken County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in McCracken 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
McCracken County, Questions
Questions about radon in McCracken County
Are radon levels high in McCracken County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 21.4% of the radon tests reported to CDC for McCracken County, Kentucky were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.6 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 2 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Massac County, IL reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 15.2%, and Marshall County the smallest, 10.6%.
Which counties border McCracken County?
McCracken County borders 7 counties: Massac County, IL, Ballard County, KY, Carlisle County, KY, Livingston County, KY, Pulaski County, IL, Marshall County, KY and Graves County, KY.
Products
McCracken County, Products
Testing a home in McCracken County
No CDC figure names McCracken County; the nearest county with one, Marshall County (24 miles away), reported 10.6% 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. Zone 3 is the lowest label, yet homes at or above 4 pCi/L occur in every zone: a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in McCracken County.
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
EcoQube Wi-Fi continuous radon monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Plug-in
- Wi-Fi
- App only
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
McCracken County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering McCracken County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Pulaski County, ILEPA zone 3
18.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.0 pCi/L · 11 tests
- Radon levels in Massac County, ILEPA zone 3
15.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 33 tests
- Radon levels in Marshall County, KYEPA zone 3
10.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 85 tests
- Radon levels in Graves County, KYEPA zone 3
8.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 24 tests
- Radon levels in Ballard County, KYEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.4 pCi/L · 4 tests
- Radon levels in Carlisle County, KYEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.0 pCi/L · 1 test
- Radon levels in Livingston County, KYEPA zone 2
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.3 pCi/L · 11 tests
McCracken County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in McCracken County
About 67,553 people live in McCracken County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 370 fewer than in 2020 (−0.5%). That works out to 272 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Paducah, has 26,730 residents, 39.6% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 28 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.4 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kentucky as a whole comes to 6.3.
From Paducah to Kevil, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads McCracken County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paducah | 26,730 | −1.5% | 39.6% |
| Kevilextends beyond McCracken County | 575 | −1.9% | Counted whole |
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). A place that extends beyond McCracken County is counted whole, so it has no share.
McCracken County, Homes
Homes in McCracken County
Of McCracken County's 32,155 homes, 65% are detached houses, against 68% across Kentucky; 11% are in buildings of five or more homes. Half of its homes were built before 1978, close to Kentucky's 1982: 26% date from before 1960 and 17% from 2000 or later. 67% 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 | McCracken County | Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 32,155 | 2,010,655 |
| Detached houses | 65% | 68% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 11% | 12% |
| Mobile homes | 10% | 11% |
| Built before 1960 | 26% | 22% |
| Built since 2000 | 17% | 24% |
| Middle year built | 1978 | 1982 |
| Owner-occupied | 67% | 68% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.