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 Butler County, Missouri
EPA puts Butler County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 2 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
21.2%
9.4 pts below MO
- Butler
- 21.2%
- Missouri
- 30.6%
33 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.9pCi/L
Below action level
- Butler
- 1.9 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
33
70th of 72 by tests
- Butler
- 33
- St. Louis
- 17,747
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 3
Lower potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Missouri
57 of 72
Lowest quarter
- Butler
- 21.2%
- Atchison
- 69.9%
By share, of 72 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Butler County
Starts at Butler County's median, 1.9 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.9 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. Butler County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Butler County, At a glance
Butler County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Low across 61% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Butler County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 100.0% |
| 2022 | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.0% |
2023: 0.0%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 100.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 2 tests were reported to CDC for Butler 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).
Butler County, Compared
Butler County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Butler County's 33 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 1.9 pCi/L and a maximum of 21.4 pCi/L, and 21.2% reached 4 pCi/L. Missouri as a whole (115 Missouri counties, pooled) comes to 30.6%: 9.4 points higher than here.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 2 tests (0.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 33-test figure.
Among its state's counties it ranks 57th of 72 Missouri counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Atchison County reported the highest share (69.9%) and Vernon County the lowest (8.8%).
Below the action level, 17 tests (51.5%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 41.2% statewide, and 9 tests (27.3%) fell between 2 and 4, against 28.1% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2014, with 2 tests reported; the quietest, 2022, had 1.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Butler County in Zone 3, a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 61% of the county's land low radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Butler County, Geology
The ground under Butler County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map splits Butler County: 61.3% of its land is low radon potential and 38.7% moderate. The map puts 61.3% of Butler County in the area it calls Coastal Plains Province and 38.7% in Salem Plateau. USGS gives the first a radon index of 5, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Plains Province | Tertiary-Quaternary sandstone, shale, and alluvium. | Low | 5 | 61.3% |
| Salem Plateau | Ordovician dolomite, sandstone, limestone, and shale. | Moderate | 11 | 38.7% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Butler County beside the ground around it
Across Missouri 8.2% of the land is rated high; none of Butler County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, 1 has more high-potential ground, Wayne County the most at 12.4%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Butler County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Butler County
- Missouri Radon ProgramMissouri Radon Program, run by Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Missouri.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Free radon test kits are available for Missouri residents (limit one per household).
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Missouri27 professionals are listed in Missouri.
What Missouri's program says
- Phone
- 573-751-6102
- radon@health.mo.gov
What it means
Butler County, Questions
Questions about radon in Butler County
Are radon levels high in Butler County?
In 2023, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Butler County, Missouri were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.5 pCi/L. Of 72 Missouri counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 56 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 30.6%.
Which counties border Butler County?
Butler County borders 6 counties: Stoddard County, MO, Ripley County, MO, Wayne County, MO, Clay County, AR, Carter County, MO and Dunklin County, MO.
Products
Butler County, Products
Testing a home in Butler County
In Butler County, 21.2% of 33 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 30.6% pooled across Missouri. 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 Butler 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
MonitorAEGTEST
HOUND-1011 rechargeable radon detector with a screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Butler County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Butler County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Ripley County, MOEPA zone 2
30.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.0 pCi/L · 10 tests · 8.8 points above Butler County
- Radon levels in Carter County, MOEPA zone 2
25.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.8 pCi/L · 4 tests · 3.8 points above Butler County
- Radon levels in Wayne County, MOEPA zone 2
23.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 17 tests · 2.3 points above Butler County
- Radon levels in Stoddard County, MOEPA zone 3
12.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.1 pCi/L · 25 tests · 9.2 points below Butler County
- Radon levels in Dunklin County, MOEPA zone 3
6.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.3 pCi/L · 16 tests · 14.9 points below Butler County
- Radon levels in Clay County, AREPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.2 pCi/L · 1 test · 21.2 points below Butler County
Butler County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Butler County
Butler County's population has barely moved since 2020: 41,904 residents on July 1, 2025 against 42,064 then, by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 60 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Poplar Bluff, has 16,295 residents, 38.9% of the total. Together its 4 incorporated places hold 41.5% of those residents; the other 58.5% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 33 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.8 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Missouri as a whole comes to 9.3.
From Poplar Bluff to Fisk, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Butler County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Poplar Bluff | 16,295 | +0.1% | 38.9% |
| Qulin | 466 | Level | 1.1% |
| Neelyville | 312 | −1.0% | 0.7% |
| Fisk | 309 | −1.0% | 0.7% |
4 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).
Butler County, Homes
Homes in Butler County
Of Butler County's 19,296 homes, 74% are detached houses, against 70% across Missouri; 12% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1980, close to Missouri's 1978: 18% date from before 1960 and 21% from 2000 or later. 65% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Missouri: 68%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Butler County | Missouri |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 19,296 | 2,809,501 |
| Detached houses | 74% | 70% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 5% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 12% | 5% |
| Built before 1960 | 18% | 28% |
| Built since 2000 | 21% | 21% |
| Middle year built | 1980 | 1978 |
| Owner-occupied | 65% | 68% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.