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Radon Levels in Butler County, Nebraska

EPA puts Butler County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 23 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

How to test this homeFind a certified tester

  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    57.7%

    10.0 pts above NE

    Butler
    57.7%
    Nebraska
    47.7%

    1,212 tests, 2017

  • Median result

    5.1pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Butler
    5.1 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2017

  • Tests reported

    1,212

    7th of 74 by tests

    Butler
    1,212
    Douglas
    18,306

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Nebraska

    31 of 74

    Middle half

    Butler
    57.7%
    Webster
    84.6%

    By share, of 74 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Butler County

Starts at Butler County's median, 5.1 pCi/L

5.1pCi/L

EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.

EPA’s reading of 5.1 pCi/L

At or above 4 pCi/L

  1. Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
  2. 2 to 4consider a fix
  3. 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. Butler County's median reported result, 2017.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Butler County, At a glance

Butler County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential

EPA puts all of Butler County in and predicts an average indoor of greater than 4 pCi/L (greater than 150 Bq/m³) across the county. That is one forecast for the whole county, not a reading of any address in it; homes above EPA's turn up in all three zones.

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 Butler County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Butler County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Butler County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201463.6%
201575.3%
201668.9%
201757.7%
201863.3%
201965.4%
202053.3%
202135.1%
202257.1%
202356.5%

2023: 56.5%. Across these years the share ran from 35.1% to 75.3%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

Only 23 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).

How to read these figures

Butler County, Compared

Butler County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

More than half: 57.7% of the 1,212 radon tests reported to CDC for Butler County in 2017 read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 31st of 74 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 10.0 points above the 47.7% pooled from 92 Nebraska counties.

The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 23 tests (56.5% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 1,212-test figure.

The median result, 5.1 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 32.4 pCi/L. The rest split 26.7% under 2 pCi/L and 15.6% from 2 to 4 (Nebraska: 25.6% and 26.7%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 57.7% share point the same way here.

4 of its 8 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Seward County at 67.4%; Lancaster County reported 44.5%. Statewide for the same period, Webster County reported the highest share (84.6%) and Cherry County the lowest (15.4%).

The busiest year on file was 2017, with 1,212 tests reported; the quietest, 2022, had 21.

Over 8 years of annual figures the share fell 28.5 points, from 63.6% in 2014 to 35.1% in 2021; its peak was 75.3% in 2015. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 31.7%; Butler County sits 26.0 points above it.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Butler County against Nebraska2014 to 2021, years with 30 or more tests: Butler County 63.6% to 35.1%, the state's pooled share 34.9% in 2021.
Butler CountyNebraska, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Butler County against Nebraska: data table
YearTestsButler County, at or above 4 pCi/LNebraska, pooled
201423163.6%50.5%
201523175.3%53.3%
201627068.9%47.4%
20171,21257.7%47.7%
201856463.3%44.5%
201923465.4%44.3%
202018053.3%42.2%
202146235.1%34.9%
Butler County against Nebraska, the United States and nearby counties, 2017
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Butler County
Butler County1,21257.7%5.1 pCi/LThis county
Nebraska, pooled92 counties, pooled65,66747.7%Not pooled−10.0 points
United States, pooled937 counties, pooled528,06231.7%Not pooled−26.0 points
Webster Countyhighest in the state7884.6%6.0 pCi/L+26.9 points
Cherry Countylowest in the state3915.4%1.5 pCi/L−42.3 points
Seward County, NEborders it77467.4%6.2 pCi/L+9.7 points
York County, NEborders it57966.3%5.7 pCi/L+8.6 points
Polk County, NEborders it14462.5%5.4 pCi/L+4.8 points
Saunders County, NEborders it81962.3%5.2 pCi/L+4.6 points
Colfax County, NEborders it24354.3%4.9 pCi/L−3.4 points
Platte County, NEborders it1,10453.3%4.3 pCi/L−4.4 points
Dodge County, NEborders it1,26649.3%3.9 pCi/L−8.4 points
Lancaster County, NEborders it13,94744.5%3.5 pCi/L−13.2 points
Where Butler County's reported results fell, 2017, beside Nebraska and the United States
ResultButler County testsButler County shareNebraska shareU.S. shareAgainst Nebraska
Under 2 pCi/L32426.7%25.6%43.5%+1.1 points
2 to 4 pCi/L18915.6%26.7%24.8%−11.1 points
4 pCi/L and above69957.7%47.7%31.7%+10.0 points
Butler County ranked among the 74 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2017
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Washington County26 of 7483162.1%4.9 pCi/L
Nemaha County27 of 7425261.9%7.5 pCi/L
Howard County28 of 745461.1%4.5 pCi/L
Cass County29 of 7491860.5%5.5 pCi/L
Antelope County30 of 7415958.5%4.9 pCi/L
Butler County31 of 741,21257.7%5.1 pCi/L
Pierce County32 of 7420457.4%5.8 pCi/L
Gage County33 of 7480157.3%5.0 pCi/L
Greeley County34 of 744257.1%5.0 pCi/L
Morrill County34 of 744257.1%4.3 pCi/L
Dakota County36 of 7449557.0%4.9 pCi/L
Butler County radon tests by year, against Nebraska's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestNebraska, pooledChange from the row before
20232356.5%7.0 pCi/L26.5 pCi/L38.2%−0.6 points
20222157.1%4.4 pCi/L29.2 pCi/L34.0%+22.0 points
202146235.1%2.8 pCi/L39.6 pCi/L34.9%−18.2 points
202018053.3%4.3 pCi/L30.7 pCi/L42.2%−12.1 points
201923465.4%5.5 pCi/L21.2 pCi/L44.3%+2.1 points
201856463.3%5.8 pCi/L122.0 pCi/L44.5%+5.6 points
20171,21257.7%5.1 pCi/L32.4 pCi/L47.7%−11.2 points
201627068.9%5.9 pCi/L20.1 pCi/L47.4%−6.4 points
201523175.3%7.2 pCi/L27.6 pCi/L53.3%+11.7 points
201423163.6%5.4 pCi/L40.3 pCi/L50.5%First on file

Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.

Butler County, Geology

The ground under Butler County

Predicted

Most of the ground under Butler County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 99.9% of its land is high radon potential, with 0.1% moderate. All of it lies in the area the map calls Pre-Wisconsin glacial deposits, to which USGS gives a radon index of 13, in the high band (12 to 17).

USGS's geologic areas under Butler County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Pre-Wisconsin glacial depositsLoess-mantled glacial drift.High1399.9%

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

Butler County has more high-potential ground than Nebraska as a whole: 99.9% of its land against 40.9%. Of the 8 counties that border it, 6 have more high-potential ground, Colfax County the most at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Butler County, the 8 counties bordering it and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Butler CountyZone 1None0.1%99.9%
Polk CountyZone 1None26.1%73.9%
Seward CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Saunders CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Colfax CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Lancaster CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
York CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Platte CountyZone 1None17.4%82.6%
Dodge CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Nebraska93 counties, pooled by land areaVaries28.2%30.9%40.9%

The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.

Local help

Butler County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Butler County

What Nebraska's program says
Phone
(402) 471-1005
Licensing of radon professionals
If radon testing is done in schools, offices, or other places of work, it must be done by a licensed radon measurement business.

What it means

Butler County, Questions

Questions about radon in Butler County

Are radon levels high in Butler County?

In 2023, 56.5% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Butler County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 7.0 pCi/L. Of 74 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 30 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 47.7%.

Which counties border Butler County?

Butler County borders 8 counties: Polk County, Seward County, Saunders County, Colfax County, Lancaster County, York County, Platte County and Dodge County.

Products

Butler County, Products

Testing a home in Butler County

In Butler County, 57.7% of 1,212 tests reported to CDC in 2017 reached 4 pCi/L, against 47.7% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Butler 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

Butler County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Butler County

Explore

Butler County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Butler County

Calculated by Radon411

Butler County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Butler County

The Census Bureau estimates 8,507 residents in Butler County for July 1, 2025, 152 more than in 2020 (+1.8%). That works out to 15 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, David City, has 3,068 residents, 36.1% of the total. Together its 12 incorporated places hold 59.7% of those residents; the other 40.3% live outside any of them. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 1,212 reported tests for 2017 come to 142 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 32.5 for Nebraska.

From David City to Surprise, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Butler County's.

The cities and towns in Butler County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
David City3,068+2.3%36.1%
Bellwood414+2.2%4.9%
Rising City362+1.1%4.3%
Brainard353+4.7%4.1%
Dwight235+3.1%2.8%
Ulysses190+0.5%2.2%
Octavia107Level1.3%
Bruno95Level1.1%
Linwood93+1.1%1.1%
Abie67+1.5%0.8%
Garrison56+1.8%0.7%
Surprise40+2.6%0.5%

12 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

Butler County is a place of houses on their own lots: 83% of its 4,031 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. Half of its homes were built before 1968, close to Nebraska's 1975: 43% date from before 1960 and 14% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 80% of the occupied homes (Nebraska: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Butler County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesButler CountyNebraska
Housing units4,031855,631
Detached houses83%72%
In buildings of 5 or more2%17%
Mobile homes8%3%
Built before 196043%32%
Built since 200014%22%
Middle year built19681975
Owner-occupied80%67%

Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.