Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Lincoln County, Minnesota
EPA puts Lincoln County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 24 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2023). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
64.2%
20.8 pts above MN
- Lincoln
- 64.2%
- Minnesota
- 43.4%
137 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
6.8pCi/L
Action level reached
- Lincoln
- 6.8 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
137
76th of 85 by tests
- Lincoln
- 137
- Hennepin
- 35,213
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Minnesota
23 of 85
Middle half
- Lincoln
- 64.2%
- Rock
- 83.8%
By share, of 85 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Lincoln County
Starts at Lincoln County's median, 6.8 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 6.8 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. Lincoln County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Lincoln County, At a glance
Lincoln County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Lincoln County in
USGS geologic potential: High across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Lincoln County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 90.0% |
| 2015 | 84.4% |
| 2016 | 38.9% |
| 2017 | 50.0% |
| 2018 | 75.0% |
| 2019 | 70.4% |
| 2020 | 46.2% |
| 2021 | 72.7% |
| 2022 | 65.5% |
| 2023 | 54.2% |
2023: 54.2%. Across these years the share ran from 38.9% to 90.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 24 tests were reported to CDC for Lincoln County over 2023, 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: 2023. Measured data period: 2005 to 2023 (every CDC figure on file).
Lincoln County, Compared
Lincoln County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 64.2% of the 137 radon tests reported to CDC for Lincoln County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 23rd of 85 Minnesota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 20.8 points above the 43.4% pooled from 87 Minnesota counties.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 24 tests (54.2% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 137-test figure.
The median result, 6.8 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 54.8 pCi/L. The rest split 13.9% under 2 pCi/L and 21.9% from 2 to 4 (Minnesota: 27.4% and 29.2%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 64.2% share point the same way here.
All 4 of its bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Yellow Medicine County at 71.6%; the lowest of them, Lyon County, reported 64.3%. Statewide for the same period, Rock County reported the highest share (83.8%) and Anoka County the lowest (17.4%).
The busiest year on file was 2016, with 36 tests reported; the quietest, 2017, had 10.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Lincoln County sits 28.5 points above it. CDC also counts 10 tests taken after mitigation in Lincoln County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Lincoln County, State data
Minnesota's own radon test data
MeasuredWhat Minnesota's own agencies publish about radon tests in Lincoln County, with their period. These are not CDC's figures and are never added to them.
MeasuredState figures, not CDC's
What the Minnesota Department of Health reports for Lincoln County
Radon Testing (MN Public Health Data Access Portal): home radon tests reported voluntarily by private laboratories and licensed radon measurement professionals, counted by property. Period: 2016-2025.
Share with one or more tests at or above 4 pCi/L
73.2%
175 properties tested with one or more tests at or above 4 pCi/L
Median result
5.9 pCi/L
Average result
7.9 pCi/L
Tests behind these figures
24 properties tested a year on average
- MDH says these data do not include all of the radon tests conducted in Minnesota.
- Post-mitigation tests are excluded from the averages and the median; the percentages use each property's highest test.
- Each home is unique and can have very different results than a neighbor's home; the only way to know is to test.
- These figures describe tests reported to the Minnesota Department of Health in this area. They count a different set of tests than CDC's figures and are not a reading of any one home.
Measured: Minnesota Department of Health data, 2016-2025.
Lincoln County, Geology
The ground under Lincoln County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Lincoln County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Central Lowland-Till Prairie, to which USGS gives a radon index of 14, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Lowland-Till Prairie | Silty and clayey till derived from shale and sandstone. | High | 14 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Lincoln County beside the ground around it
Lincoln County has more high-potential ground than Minnesota as a whole: 100% of its land against 61.1%. Of the 6 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Brookings County, SD comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Lincoln County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Lincoln County
- MDH Indoor Air UnitMDH Indoor Air Unit, run by MN Dept. of Health, licenses or certifies radon professionals and states the rule for disclosing radon when a home is sold, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Minnesota.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 Minnesota255 professionals are listed in Minnesota.
What Minnesota's program says
- Phone
- 651-201-4601
- health.indoorair@state.mn.us
- Licensing of radon professionals
The Radon Licensing Act requires anyone who performs a radon test or radon mitigation, in a building they do not own or lease, must be licensed by MDH.
- Disclosure when a home is sold or rented
The Minnesota Radon Awareness Act requires specific disclosure and education be provided to potential home buyers during residential real estate transactions in Minnesota.
What it means
Lincoln County, Questions
Questions about radon in Lincoln County
Are radon levels high in Lincoln County?
In 2023, 54.2% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Lincoln County, Minnesota were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.0 pCi/L. Of 85 Minnesota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 22 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 43.4%.
Which counties border Lincoln County?
Lincoln County borders 6 counties: Lyon County, MN, Pipestone County, MN, Brookings County, SD, Yellow Medicine County, MN, Deuel County, SD and Moody County, SD.
Products
Lincoln County, Products
Testing a home in Lincoln County
In Lincoln County, 64.2% of 137 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 43.4% pooled across Minnesota. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Lincoln County is the one to know: a long-term test (more than 90 days) or a monitor, with a short-term kit for a first answer.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
MonitorPYZYCKYH
RD17 plug-in radon detector with a rechargeable battery and color screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
Short-term kit
PicoCan short-term charcoal canister radon test
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 48 to 96 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Lincoln County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Lincoln County
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Lincoln County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Lincoln County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Deuel County, SDEPA zone 1
76.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.2 pCi/L · 25 tests · 11.8 points above Lincoln County
71.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.0 pCi/L · 229 tests · 7.4 points above Lincoln County
- Radon levels in Pipestone County, MNEPA zone 1
71.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.8 pCi/L · 360 tests · 7.2 points above Lincoln County
- Radon levels in Moody County, SDEPA zone 1
70.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.2 pCi/L · 20 tests · 5.8 points above Lincoln County
- Radon levels in Brookings County, SDEPA zone 1
68.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.6 pCi/L · 356 tests · 4.3 points above Lincoln County
- Radon levels in Lyon County, MNEPA zone 1
64.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.3 pCi/L · 687 tests · 0.1 points above Lincoln County
Lincoln County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Lincoln County
About 5,583 people live in Lincoln County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 40 fewer than in 2020 (−0.7%). That works out to 10 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Tyler, the largest, has 1,112 residents, 19.9% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 54.0% of those residents; the other 46.0% live outside any of them. CDC's 137 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 work out to 24.5 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Minnesota's 22.5.
From Tyler to Arco, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Lincoln County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler | 1,112 | −2.3% | 19.9% |
| Lake Benton | 677 | −1.6% | 12.1% |
| Hendricks | 605 | −1.5% | 10.8% |
| Ivanhoe | 540 | −2.9% | 9.7% |
| Arco | 83 | −4.6% | 1.5% |
5 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).
Lincoln County, Homes
Homes in Lincoln County
Lincoln County is a place of houses on their own lots: 89% of its 3,061 homes are detached single-family houses, against 66% across Minnesota. The homes are older than Minnesota's as a whole: half were built before 1960 (1978 for Minnesota), and 50% date from before 1960. Owners live in 82% of the occupied homes (Minnesota: 72%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Lincoln County | Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 3,061 | 2,519,538 |
| Detached houses | 89% | 66% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 6% | 19% |
| Mobile homes | 2% | 3% |
| Built before 1960 | 50% | 29% |
| Built since 2000 | 12% | 22% |
| Middle year built | 1960 | 1978 |
| Owner-occupied | 82% | 72% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.