Short-term kit
RA100 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in McCreary County, Kentucky
EPA puts McCreary County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 9 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
60.9%
Wayne County
- Wayne
- 60.9%
- Scott
- 2.6%
5 of 6 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2008 to 2017
Nearest county
60.9%
Wayne County, 20 miles
- Wayne
- 60.9%
- Kentucky
- 43.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 64 tests, 2008 to 2017
Ground above low
87.3%
6.9 pts below Kentucky
- McCreary
- 87.3%
- Kentucky
- 94.3%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
9
Too few for a share
- McCreary
- 9
- 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 McCreary 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
McCreary County, At a glance
McCreary County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
McCreary County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 87% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for McCreary County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 9 reported tests for McCreary County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 1.2 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). McCreary County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 9 tests were reported to CDC for McCreary 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).
McCreary County, Compared
McCreary County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for McCreary County rests on 9 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 11.1 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 3.4 pCi/L, with a middle value of 1.2 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 5 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Wayne County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 60.9%, and Scott County, TN the smallest, 2.6%, with Pulaski County at 59.5%, Campbell County, TN at 53.5% and Laurel County at 22.0% between. Farther out, Clinton County (36 miles away) at 47.5%, Russell County (36 miles away) at 25.0% and Casey County (47 miles away) at 32.6% 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 McCreary County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 87% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
McCreary County, Geology
The ground under McCreary County
PredictedMost of the ground under McCreary County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 87.3% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 12.7% low. The map puts 58.8% of McCreary County in the area it calls Cumberland Plateau and 28.6% in Mississippian Plateau, with one smaller area beside them. 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 | 58.8% |
| Mississippian Plateau | Mississippian marine limestones, dolomites, marine sandstones, siltstones, and shales. | Moderate | 11 | 28.6% |
| Appalachian Plateau | Sandstone and shale. | Low | 8 | 12.7% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
McCreary County beside the ground around it
Across Kentucky 18.2% of the land is rated high; none of McCreary County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, 3 have more high-potential ground, Campbell County, TN the most at 36.9%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
McCreary County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in McCreary 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
McCreary County, Questions
Questions about radon in McCreary County
Are radon levels high in McCreary County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for McCreary County, Kentucky were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.2 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 5 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Wayne County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 60.9%, and Scott County, TN the smallest, 2.6%, with Pulaski County at 59.5%, Campbell County, TN at 53.5% and Laurel County at 22.0% between.
Which counties border McCreary County?
McCreary County borders 6 counties: Wayne County, KY, Whitley County, KY, Pulaski County, KY, Scott County, TN, Laurel County, KY and Campbell County, TN.
Products
McCreary County, Products
Testing a home in McCreary County
No CDC figure names McCreary County; the nearest county with one, Wayne County (20 miles away), reported 60.9% 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 McCreary County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
MonitorAEGTEST
HOUND-3699 radon monitor with a 2.1-inch touchscreen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
First reading: Within 1 hour
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
McCreary County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering McCreary County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Wayne County, KYEPA zone 2
60.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.0 pCi/L · 64 tests
- Radon levels in Pulaski County, KYEPA zone 1
59.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.1 pCi/L · 395 tests
- Radon levels in Campbell County, TNEPA zone 3
53.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.5 pCi/L · 71 tests
- Radon levels in Laurel County, KYEPA zone 2
22.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 100 tests
- Radon levels in Whitley County, KYEPA zone 2
4.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.6 pCi/L · 23 tests
- Radon levels in Scott County, TNEPA zone 3
2.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.3 pCi/L · 39 tests
McCreary County, Residents
Who lives in McCreary County
The Census Bureau estimates 17,124 residents in McCreary County for July 1, 2025, 284 more than in 2020 (+1.7%). That works out to 40 people per square mile of land. Reported testing is thin here: 9 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.5 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kentucky as a whole comes to 6.3.
Census lists no incorporated place in McCreary County: every home in it reads the county's figures.
Residents: U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for July 1, 2025 (Vintage 2025).
McCreary County, Homes
Homes in McCreary County
Of McCreary County's 6,919 homes, 64% are detached houses, against 68% across Kentucky; 27% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1985, close to Kentucky's 1982: 15% date from before 1960 and 21% from 2000 or later. 74% 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 | McCreary County | Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 6,919 | 2,010,655 |
| Detached houses | 64% | 68% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 2% | 12% |
| Mobile homes | 27% | 11% |
| Built before 1960 | 15% | 22% |
| Built since 2000 | 21% | 24% |
| Middle year built | 1985 | 1982 |
| Owner-occupied | 74% | 68% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.