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 McDonald County, Missouri
EPA puts McDonald County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 5 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
Highest bordering
41.9%
Delaware County
- Delaware
- 41.9%
- Newton
- 31.1%
4 of 5 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2008 to 2017
Nearest county
31.1%
Newton County, 19 miles
- Newton
- 31.1%
- Missouri
- 30.6%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 167 tests, 2008 to 2017
Ground above low
100.0%
5.8 pts above Missouri
- McDonald
- 100.0%
- Missouri
- 94.2%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
20
Too few for a share
- McDonald
- 20
- Needed
- 30
2007 to 2016, 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 McDonald 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
McDonald County, At a glance
McDonald County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
McDonald County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for McDonald County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2015 | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 33.3% |
| 2017 | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 50.0% |
| 2019 | 100.0% |
| 2021 | 0.0% |
| 2022 | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 60.0% |
2023: 60.0%. 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 5 tests were reported to CDC for McDonald 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).
McDonald County, Compared
McDonald County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for McDonald County rests on 20 tests over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals, 8 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 27.5 pCi/L, with a middle value of 2.4 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 4 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Delaware County, OK reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 41.9%, and Newton County the smallest, 31.1%, with Barry County at 41.8% and Benton County, AR at 34.0% between. Farther out, Jasper County (40 miles away) at 29.1%, Lawrence County (44 miles away) at 27.1% and Stone County (50 miles away) at 41.6% have figures too. Pooled across 115 Missouri counties, 30.6% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 35.7%.
Statewide for the same period, Atchison County reported the highest share (69.9%) and Vernon County the lowest (8.8%). EPA's 1993 map puts McDonald County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
McDonald County, Geology
The ground under McDonald County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of McDonald County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Springfield Plateau, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield Plateau | Mississippian limestone, shale, and sandstone. | Moderate | 11 | 99.9% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
McDonald County beside the ground around it
Across Missouri 8.2% of the land is rated high; none of McDonald County's is. Of the 5 counties that border it, none has as large a share of moderate-potential ground; Barry County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
McDonald County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in McDonald 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
McDonald County, Questions
Questions about radon in McDonald County
Are radon levels high in McDonald County?
In 2023, 60.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for McDonald County, Missouri were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 6.1 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 4 have a figure over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals: Delaware County, OK reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 41.9%, and Newton County the smallest, 31.1%, with Barry County at 41.8% and Benton County, AR at 34.0% between.
Which counties border McDonald County?
McDonald County borders 5 counties: Newton County, MO, Benton County, AR, Barry County, MO, Delaware County, OK and Ottawa County, OK.
Products
McDonald County, Products
Testing a home in McDonald County
No CDC figure names McDonald County; the nearest county with one, Newton County (19 miles away), reported 31.1% 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 McDonald 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
McDonald County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering McDonald County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Delaware County, OKEPA zone 2
41.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.3 pCi/L · 31 tests
- Radon levels in Barry County, MOEPA zone 2
41.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.1 pCi/L · 55 tests
- Radon levels in Benton County, AREPA zone 2
34.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.2 pCi/L · 147 tests
- Radon levels in Newton County, MOEPA zone 2
31.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.5 pCi/L · 167 tests
- Radon levels in Ottawa County, OKEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.2 pCi/L · 3 tests
McDonald County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in McDonald County
The Census Bureau estimates 23,992 residents in McDonald County for July 1, 2025, 711 more than in 2020 (+3.1%). That works out to 44 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Noel, the largest, has 2,181 residents, 9.1% of the total. Together its 8 incorporated places hold 34.2% of those residents; the other 65.8% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 20 tests over 2007 to 2016, or 0.8 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Missouri as a whole comes to 8.8.
From Noel to Ginger Blue, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads McDonald County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noel | 2,181 | +2.5% | 9.1% |
| Anderson | 2,073 | +1.7% | 8.6% |
| Goodman | 1,320 | +10.1% | 5.5% |
| Southwest City | 969 | +5.3% | 4.0% |
| Pineville | 836 | +5.6% | 3.5% |
| Jane | 405 | +13.4% | 1.7% |
| Lanagan | 379 | +1.3% | 1.6% |
| Ginger Blue | 34 | Level | 0.1% |
8 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).
McDonald County, Homes
Homes in McDonald County
Of McDonald County's 9,807 homes, 64% are detached houses, against 70% across Missouri; 25% are mobile homes. Much of McDonald County is recent building: 25% of its homes have gone up since 2000 and the middle year built is 1986, against 1978 for Missouri. 68% 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 | McDonald County | Missouri |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 9,807 | 2,809,501 |
| Detached houses | 64% | 70% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 4% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 25% | 5% |
| Built before 1960 | 22% | 28% |
| Built since 2000 | 25% | 21% |
| Middle year built | 1986 | 1978 |
| Owner-occupied | 68% | 68% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.