Short-term kit
Radon Short Term Test Kit short-term charcoal radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 2 to 7 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Golden Valley County, Montana
EPA puts Golden Valley County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 1 radon test from it is on file with CDC (2007 to 2016, laboratory totals). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Highest bordering
72.2%
Fergus County
- Fergus
- 72.2%
- Yellowstone
- 43.1%
3 of 6 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2006 to 2015
Nearest county
61.8%
Stillwater County, 50 miles
- Stillwater
- 61.8%
- Montana
- 47.4%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 55 tests, 2006 to 2015
Ground above low
100.0%
Level with Montana
- Golden Valley
- 100.0%
- Montana
- 100.0%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
1
Too few for a share
- Golden Valley
- 1
- 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 Golden Valley 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
Golden Valley County, At a glance
Golden Valley County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Golden Valley County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 92% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Golden Valley County, 2007 to 2016, laboratory
CDC holds 1 reported test for Golden Valley County over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals, a result of 5.0 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Golden Valley County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 1 test was reported to CDC for Golden Valley County over 2007 to 2016 (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: 2007 to 2016, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2016 (every CDC figure on file).
Golden Valley County, Compared
Golden Valley County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Golden Valley County rests on 1 test over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals, 1 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 100.0 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 5.0 pCi/L, with a middle value of 5.0 pCi/L.
Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals: Fergus County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 72.2%, and Yellowstone County the smallest, 43.1%, with Stillwater County at 61.8% between. Farther out, Judith Basin County (69 miles away) at 64.3%, Carbon County (80 miles away) at 52.5% and Park County (90 miles away) at 57.9% have figures too. Pooled across 52 Montana counties, 47.4% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 36.3%.
Statewide for the same period, Sheridan County reported the highest share (75.7%) and Hill County the lowest (35.0%). EPA's 1993 map puts Golden Valley County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 92% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Golden Valley County, Geology
The ground under Golden Valley County
PredictedMost of the ground under Golden Valley County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 91.6% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 8.4% high. The map puts 91.6% of Golden Valley County in the area it calls Plains and Mountains and 8.4% in Northern Rocky Mountains. USGS gives the first a radon index of 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11), and the second 13, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plains and Mountains | Marine and continental shale, siltstone, and sandstone of Cretaceous and Tertiary ages, and volcanic rocks. | Moderate | 10 | 91.6% |
| Northern Rocky Mountains | Granitic, metaigneous, metasedimentary rocks, valley fill colluvium and alluvium. | High | 13 | 8.4% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Golden Valley County beside the ground around it
Montana as a whole has more high-potential ground than Golden Valley County: 78.5% of its land, against 8.4% here. Of the 6 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Fergus County the most at 66.9%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Golden Valley County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Golden Valley County
- Radon Control ProgramRadon Control Program, run by Montana DEQ, does not license radon professionals and offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Montana.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Energy Bureau staff manage the radon information toll-free hotline and distribute subsidized radon test kits to Montana residents.
- Compare kits
- See the Montana directoryNo professionals are listed in Montana yet. The state program can point you to registered testers and mitigators.
What Montana's program says
- Phone
- 1-800-546-0483
- Licensing of radon professionals
Montana DEQ does not certify or require proof of certification for the contractors listed.
What it means
Golden Valley County, Questions
Questions about radon in Golden Valley County
Are radon levels high in Golden Valley County?
Over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals, 100.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Golden Valley County, Montana were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.0 pCi/L. Of the counties bordering it, 3 have a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals: Fergus County reported the largest share at or above 4 pCi/L, 72.2%, and Yellowstone County the smallest, 43.1%, with Stillwater County at 61.8% between.
Which counties border Golden Valley County?
Golden Valley County borders 6 counties: Wheatland County, Musselshell County, Yellowstone County, Stillwater County, Fergus County and Sweet Grass County.
Products
Golden Valley County, Products
Testing a home in Golden Valley County
No CDC figure names Golden Valley County; the nearest county with one, Stillwater County (50 miles away), reported 61.8% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2006 to 2015 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 Golden Valley County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Monitor
EcoBlu plug-in digital radon monitor with a display
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Plug-in
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Best radon monitors for Golden Valley County homes, compared
Explore
Golden Valley County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Golden Valley County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Sweet Grass CountyEPA zone 2
80.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 9.7 pCi/L · 10 tests
- Radon levels in Fergus CountyEPA zone 1
72.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 7.0 pCi/L · 72 tests
- Radon levels in Stillwater CountyEPA zone 1
61.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.0 pCi/L · 55 tests
- Radon levels in Wheatland CountyEPA zone 2
50.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.5 pCi/L · 2 tests
- Radon levels in Yellowstone CountyEPA zone 2
43.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.5 pCi/L · 1,421 tests
- Radon levels in Musselshell CountyEPA zone 2
28.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.7 pCi/L · 14 tests
Golden Valley County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Golden Valley County
The Census Bureau estimates 844 residents in Golden Valley County for July 1, 2025, 22 more than in 2020 (+2.7%). Spread over its land, that is 0.7 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Ryegate, has 228 residents, 27.0% of the total. Together its 2 incorporated places hold 43.7% of those residents; the other 56.3% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 1 test over 2007 to 2016, or 1.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Montana as a whole comes to 8.1.
From Ryegate to Lavina, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Golden Valley County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryegate | 228 | +2.7% | 27.0% |
| Lavina | 141 | +2.9% | 16.7% |
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).
Golden Valley County, Homes
Homes in Golden Valley County
Golden Valley County is a place of houses on their own lots: 79% of its 473 homes are detached single-family houses, against 69% across Montana. The homes are older than Montana's as a whole: half were built before 1971 (1980 for Montana), and 45% date from before 1960. Owners live in 81% of the occupied homes (Montana: 69%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Golden Valley County | Montana |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 473 | 522,939 |
| Detached houses | 79% | 69% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 2% | 9% |
| Mobile homes | 19% | 10% |
| Built before 1960 | 45% | 26% |
| Built since 2000 | 18% | 27% |
| Middle year built | 1971 | 1980 |
| Owner-occupied | 81% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.