Short-term kit
RA400 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Dawes County, Nebraska
EPA puts Dawes County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 19 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
31.0%
19.5 pts below NE
- Dawes
- 31.0%
- Nebraska
- 50.5%
552 tests, 2014
Median result
2.0pCi/L
Below action level
- Dawes
- 2.0 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2014
Tests reported
552
15th of 69 by tests
- Dawes
- 552
- Douglas
- 18,288
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2014
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Nebraska
62 of 69
Lowest quarter
- Dawes
- 31.0%
- Clay
- 81.6%
By share, of 69 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Dawes County
Starts at Dawes County's median, 2.0 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 2.0 pCi/L
Between 2 and 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Dawes County's median reported result, 2014.
The data
Dawes County, At a glance
Dawes County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Dawes County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 66% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Dawes County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 31.0% |
| 2015 | 53.6% |
| 2016 | 58.8% |
| 2017 | 63.2% |
| 2018 | 50.0% |
| 2019 | 56.7% |
| 2020 | 49.1% |
| 2021 | 45.8% |
| 2022 | 60.0% |
| 2023 | 57.9% |
2023: 57.9%. Across these years the share ran from 31.0% to 63.2%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 19 tests were reported to CDC for Dawes 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).
Dawes County, Compared
Dawes County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411In Dawes County, about 3 in 10 reported tests in 2014 (171 of 552) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 34.9%, the gap is 3.9 points lower. Across 85 Nebraska counties pooled together, 50.5% of tests reached that level, so Dawes County runs 19.5 points below its state.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 19 tests (57.9% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 552-test figure.
Of 2 neighbours with a figure, 1 reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L and 1 a smaller one; the spread is 25.0% (Box Butte County) to 75.0% (Sheridan County). By share, Dawes County is 62nd of 69 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.
Year by year, 2014 opened at 31.0% and 2022 closed at 60.0% (up 29.0 points), with 2017 the high at 63.2%. Half the tests came in under 2.0 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 76.9 pCi/L. Below the action level, 270 tests (48.9%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 23.6% statewide, and 111 tests (20.1%) fell between 2 and 4, against 25.8% statewide.
Zone 2 on EPA's map (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L) and a 31.0% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 66% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
The busiest year on file was 2014, with 552 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 19.
Dawes CountyNebraska, pooled
60.0% % of tests34.0% % of tests
| Year | Tests | Dawes County, at or above 4 pCi/L | Nebraska, pooled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 552 | 31.0% | 50.5% |
| 2015 | 207 | 53.6% | 53.3% |
| 2016 | 102 | 58.8% | 47.4% |
| 2017 | 114 | 63.2% | 47.7% |
| 2018 | 132 | 50.0% | 44.5% |
| 2019 | 90 | 56.7% | 44.3% |
| 2020 | 159 | 49.1% | 42.2% |
| 2021 | 72 | 45.8% | 34.9% |
| 2022 | 30 | 60.0% | 34.0% |
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Dawes County, Geology
The ground under Dawes County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map splits Dawes County: 66.0% of its land is moderate radon potential and 34.0% high. The map puts 65.9% of Dawes County in the area it calls Tertiary Rocks and 34.0% in Sharon Springs. USGS gives the first a radon index of 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11), and the second 12, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tertiary Rocks | Tertiary sandstone, siltstone, and volcanic ash. | Moderate | 11 | 65.9% |
| Sharon Springs | Cretaceous Pierre Shale bedrock, including the uranium-bearing Sharon Springs Member. | High | 12 | 34.0% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Dawes County beside the ground around it
On high-potential ground Dawes County is close to Nebraska as a whole: 34.0% of its land against 40.9%. Of the 5 counties that border it, 1 has more high-potential ground, Fall River County, SD the most at 36.6%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Dawes County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Dawes County
- Office of Environmental Health Hazards & Indoor AirOffice of Environmental Health Hazards & Indoor Air, run by Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, licenses or certifies radon professionals and offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Nebraska.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Some local programs distribute radon kits for free or a reduced cost.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Nebraska116 professionals are listed in Nebraska.
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
Dawes County, Questions
Questions about radon in Dawes County
Are radon levels high in Dawes County?
In 2023, 57.9% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Dawes County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.1 pCi/L. Of 69 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 61 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 50.5%.
Which counties border Dawes County?
Dawes County borders 5 counties: Box Butte County, NE, Sioux County, NE, Sheridan County, NE, Fall River County, SD and Oglala Lakota County, SD.
Products
Dawes County, Products
Testing a home in Dawes County
In Dawes County, 31.0% of 552 tests reported to CDC in 2014 reached 4 pCi/L, against 50.5% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Dawes 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
Hello Radon C battery radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Screen
Method: Alpha spectrometry
First reading: Within 24 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Dawes County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Dawes County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Sheridan County, NEEPA zone 2
75.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.0 pCi/L · 72 tests · 44.0 points above Dawes County
- Radon levels in Sioux County, NEEPA zone 2
50.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.6 pCi/L · 24 tests · 19.0 points above Dawes County
- Radon levels in Box Butte County, NEEPA zone 2
25.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.0 pCi/L · 108 tests · 6.0 points below Dawes County
- Radon levels in Fall River County, SDEPA zone 2
No CDC figure for 2014; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
- Radon levels in Oglala Lakota County, SDEPA zone 2
No CDC figure for 2014; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Dawes County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Dawes County
About 7,858 people live in Dawes County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 299 fewer than in 2020 (−3.7%). Spread over its land, that is 5.6 people to the square mile. Chadron alone is home to 4,975 of them, 63.3% of the total. Together its 3 incorporated places hold 74.0% of those residents; the other 26.0% live outside any of them. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 552 reported tests for 2014 come to 70.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 28.0 for Nebraska.
From Chadron to Whitney, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Dawes County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chadron | 4,975 | −4.0% | 63.3% |
| Crawford | 780 | −6.6% | 9.9% |
| Whitney | 57 | −6.6% | 0.7% |
3 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).
Dawes County, Homes
Homes in Dawes County
Dawes County is a place of houses on their own lots: 75% of its 4,013 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. The homes are older than Nebraska's as a whole: half were built before 1956 (1975 for Nebraska), and 55% date from before 1960. 66% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Nebraska: 67%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Dawes County | Nebraska |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 4,013 | 855,631 |
| Detached houses | 75% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 8% | 17% |
| Mobile homes | 6% | 3% |
| Built before 1960 | 55% | 32% |
| Built since 2000 | 8% | 22% |
| Middle year built | 1956 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 66% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.