Short-term kit
PicoCan short-term charcoal canister radon test
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Nicholas County, Kentucky
EPA puts Nicholas County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 20 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
53.5%
Bourbon County
- Bourbon
- 53.5%
- Harrison
- 46.8%
3 of 6 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2008 to 2017
Nearest county
53.5%
Bourbon County, 14 miles
- Bourbon
- 53.5%
- Kentucky
- 43.7%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 127 tests, 2008 to 2017
Ground above low
100.0%
5.7 pts above Kentucky
- Nicholas
- 100.0%
- Kentucky
- 94.3%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
20
Too few for a share
- Nicholas
- 20
- 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 Nicholas 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
Nicholas County, At a glance
Nicholas County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Nicholas County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 97% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Nicholas County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 20 reported tests for Nicholas County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 1.9 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Nicholas County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 20 tests were reported to CDC for Nicholas 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).
Nicholas County, Compared
Nicholas County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Nicholas County rests on 20 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 2 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 5.0 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 5.8 pCi/L, with a middle value of 1.9 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Bourbon County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 53.5%, and Harrison County the smallest, 46.8%, with Montgomery County at 51.4% between. Farther out, Mason County (21 miles away) at 25.0%, Clark County (26 miles away) at 29.0% and Scott County (31 miles away) at 46.9% 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 Nicholas County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 97% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Nicholas County, Geology
The ground under Nicholas County
PredictedMost of the ground under Nicholas County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 97.3% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 2.7% high. 97.3% of it lies in the area the map calls Outer Bluegrass, to which USGS gives a radon index of 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outer Bluegrass | Ordovician-Devonian limestone and shale. | Moderate | 11 | 97.3% |
| Inner Bluegrass | Ordovician limestones, dolomites and shales. | High | 13 | 2.7% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Nicholas County beside the ground around it
Kentucky as a whole has more high-potential ground than Nicholas County: 18.2% of its land, against 2.7% here. Every one of the 6 counties that border it has more high-potential ground, Fleming County the most at 45.0%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Nicholas County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Nicholas 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
Nicholas County, Questions
Questions about radon in Nicholas County
Are radon levels high in Nicholas County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 10.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Nicholas County, Kentucky were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.9 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Bourbon County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 53.5%, and Harrison County the smallest, 46.8%, with Montgomery County at 51.4% between.
Which counties border Nicholas County?
Nicholas County borders 6 counties: Robertson County, Bourbon County, Fleming County, Harrison County, Bath County and Montgomery County.
Products
Nicholas County, Products
Testing a home in Nicholas County
No CDC figure names Nicholas County; the nearest county with one, Bourbon County (14 miles away), reported 53.5% 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 Nicholas 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
MonitorX-Sense
XR0A-SR battery digital radon detector with a 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
Nicholas County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Nicholas County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Bourbon CountyEPA zone 1
53.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.8 pCi/L · 127 tests
- Radon levels in Montgomery CountyEPA zone 2
51.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.1 pCi/L · 105 tests
- Radon levels in Harrison CountyEPA zone 1
46.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.4 pCi/L · 111 tests
- Radon levels in Bath CountyEPA zone 2
41.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.1 pCi/L · 12 tests
- Radon levels in Fleming CountyEPA zone 2
36.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.9 pCi/L · 22 tests
- Radon levels in Robertson CountyEPA zone 1
25.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.1 pCi/L · 4 tests
Nicholas County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Nicholas County
Nicholas County is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 7,949 residents on July 1, 2025, up 5.4% from 7,542 in 2020. That works out to 41 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Carlisle, has 2,122 residents, 26.7% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 20 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 2.5 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Kentucky as a whole comes to 6.3.
From Carlisle to Millersburg, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Nicholas County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle | 2,122 | +0.9% | 26.7% |
| Millersburgextends beyond Nicholas County | 745 | −0.7% | 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 Nicholas County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Nicholas County, Homes
Homes in Nicholas County
Of Nicholas County's 3,333 homes, 71% are detached houses, against 68% across Kentucky; 17% are mobile homes. The homes are older than Kentucky's as a whole: half were built before 1971 (1982 for Kentucky), and 40% date from before 1960. 72% 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 | Nicholas County | Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 3,333 | 2,010,655 |
| Detached houses | 71% | 68% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 3% | 12% |
| Mobile homes | 17% | 11% |
| Built before 1960 | 40% | 22% |
| Built since 2000 | 15% | 24% |
| Middle year built | 1971 | 1982 |
| Owner-occupied | 72% | 68% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.