Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Hampden County, Massachusetts
EPA puts Hampden County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and most reported tests there come back low, though 13.1% of 3,452 (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) reached 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
13.1%
10.7 pts below MA
- Hampden
- 13.1%
- MA
- 23.8%
3,452 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.3pCi/L
Below action level
- Hampden
- 1.3 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
3,452
9th of 14 by tests
- Hampden
- 3,452
- Middlesex
- 75,220
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in MA
12 of 14
Lowest quarter
- Hampden
- 13.1%
- Worcester
- 33.5%
By share, of 14 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Hampden County
Starts at Hampden County's median, 1.3 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.3 pCi/L
Below 2 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Hampden County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Hampden County, At a glance
Hampden County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Hampden County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 48% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Hampden County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 66%2 to 4 pCi/L: 21%4 pCi/L and above: 13%
Of 3,452 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 2,279 | 66.0% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 721 | 20.9% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 452 | 13.1% |
What these figures count
These are the 3,452 tests reported to CDC for Hampden 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).
Hampden County, Compared
Hampden County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Hampden County reports fewer high tests than Massachusetts overall. 13.1% of its 3,452 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals were at or above 4 pCi/L. That is 10.7 points below the 23.8% pooled from 14 Massachusetts counties.
Ordered from highest share down, it comes 12th of 14 Massachusetts counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Hampden County sits 22.6 points below it.
Next door, the shares run from 18.8% in Hampshire County to 33.5% in Worcester County. Zone 2 on EPA's map (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L) and a 13.1% share point the same way here.
Half the tests came in under 1.3 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 49.1 pCi/L. The rest split 66.0% under 2 pCi/L and 20.9% from 2 to 4 (Massachusetts: 49.6% and 26.6%).
CDC's ten-year totals for Hampden County went from 3,417 tests (2005 to 2014) to 3,452 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 11.0% to 13.1%.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Hampden County, Geology
The ground under Hampden County
PredictedNo class of ground holds half of Hampden County on USGS's geologic map: 47.6% of its land is moderate radon potential, 10.7% high and 41.7% low. The map puts 41.5% of Hampden County in the area it calls Mesozoic Basins and 26.9% in Western Connecticut Valley Belt, with 3 smaller areas beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 8, in the low band (5 to 8), and the second 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mesozoic Basins | Sedimentary and igneous rocks inclusing dolerite, arkose, basalt. | Low | 8 | 41.5% |
| Western Connecticut Valley Belt | Metasedimentary and metavolcanic gneiss and schist. | Moderate | 11 | 26.9% |
| Gneissic Domes | Domes of mafic gneiss surrounded by younger schists and amphobilites, intruded by granite, and overlain by sandy and gravelly to clayey glacial till. | Moderate | 10 | 16.8% |
| Merrimack Belt | Granitic plutons, metasedimentary rocks (phyllites, carbonaceous slates and schists). | High | 14 | 10.7% |
| Berkshire Mountains | Granitic to dioritic gneiss and schist. | Moderate | 10 | 3.9% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Hampden County beside the ground around it
Massachusetts as a whole has more high-potential ground than Hampden County: 31.9% of its land, against 10.7% here. Of the 6 counties that border it, 4 have more high-potential ground, Worcester County the most at 85.4%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Hampden County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Hampden County
- Radon UnitRadon Unit, run by Department of Public Health, answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Massachusetts.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 Massachusetts5 professionals are listed in Massachusetts.
What Massachusetts's program says
- Phone
- (800) 723-6695
- DPHIAQ.radon@mass.gov
What it means
Hampden County, Questions
Questions about radon in Hampden County
Are radon levels high in Hampden County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 13.1% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Hampden County, Massachusetts were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.3 pCi/L. Of 14 Massachusetts counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 11 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 23.8%.
Which counties border Hampden County?
Hampden County borders 6 counties: Hampshire County, MA, Tolland County, CT, Hartford County, CT, Berkshire County, MA, Worcester County, MA and Litchfield County, CT.
Products
Hampden County, Products
Testing a home in Hampden County
In Hampden County, 13.1% of 3,452 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 23.8% pooled across Massachusetts. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Hampden 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
View Radon Wi-Fi radon monitor with an e-paper display
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Battery
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Screen, app
Method: Alpha spectrometry
Readings: Every 60 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Hampden County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Hampden County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Worcester County, MAEPA zone 1
33.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.6 pCi/L · 46,440 tests · 20.4 points above Hampden County
- Radon levels in Litchfield County, CTEPA zone 2
29.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.0 pCi/L · 1,595 tests · 16.0 points above Hampden County
- Radon levels in Berkshire County, MAEPA zone 2
27.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.7 pCi/L · 1,097 tests · 14.0 points above Hampden County
- Radon levels in Tolland County, CTEPA zone 2
26.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.2 pCi/L · 1,316 tests · 13.7 points above Hampden County
- Radon levels in Hartford County, CTEPA zone 3
20.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 4,918 tests · 7.7 points above Hampden County
- Radon levels in Hampshire County, MAEPA zone 2
18.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 2,457 tests · 5.7 points above Hampden County
Hampden County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Hampden County
Hampden County's population has barely moved since 2020: 464,338 residents on July 1, 2025 against 463,651 then, by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 753 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Springfield, has 154,702 residents, 33.3% of the total. Together its 7 incorporated places hold 77.2% of those residents; the other 22.8% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 3,452 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 7.4 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Massachusetts as a whole comes to 32.7.
From Springfield to Palmer Town, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Hampden County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | 154,702 | −0.3% | 33.3% |
| Chicopee | 55,310 | −0.3% | 11.9% |
| Westfield | 40,546 | +1.0% | 8.7% |
| Holyoke | 38,023 | −0.3% | 8.2% |
| West Springfield Town | 28,829 | +0.2% | 6.2% |
| Agawam Town | 28,783 | +0.5% | 6.2% |
| Palmer Town | 12,367 | −0.4% | 2.7% |
7 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).
Hampden County, Homes
Homes in Hampden County
Of Hampden County's 197,210 homes, 56% are detached houses, against 51% across Massachusetts; 18% are in buildings of five or more homes. Half of its homes were built before 1958, close to Massachusetts' 1963: 53% date from before 1960 and 7% from 2000 or later. 62% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Massachusetts: 63%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Hampden County | Massachusetts |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 197,210 | 3,014,657 |
| Detached houses | 56% | 51% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 18% | 22% |
| Mobile homes | 2% | 1% |
| Built before 1960 | 53% | 47% |
| Built since 2000 | 7% | 14% |
| Middle year built | 1958 | 1963 |
| Owner-occupied | 62% | 63% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.