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Radon Levels in Dawson County, Nebraska

EPA puts Dawson County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 18.6% of its 97 reported radon tests (2023) were at or above 4 pCi/L. 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

    18.6%

    19.6 pts below NE

    Dawson
    18.6%
    Nebraska
    38.2%

    97 tests, 2023

  • Median result

    2.0pCi/L

    Below action level

    Dawson
    2.0 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2023

  • Tests reported

    97

    15th of 33 by tests

    Dawson
    97
    Lancaster
    4,058

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2023

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Nebraska

    30 of 33

    Lowest quarter

    Dawson
    18.6%
    Gage
    79.8%

    By share, of 33 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Dawson County

Starts at Dawson County's median, 2.0 pCi/L

2.0pCi/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

  1. Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
  2. 2 to 4consider a fix
  3. 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. Dawson County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Dawson County, At a glance

Dawson County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Dawson County is a county: EPA's forecast for it as a whole is an average indoor of 2 to 4 pCi/L (75 to 150 Bq/m³). It describes no single address, and homes above EPA's are found in every zone, this one included.

USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 76% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Dawson County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Dawson County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Dawson County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201425.8%
201539.5%
201645.8%
201734.4%
201815.1%
201941.1%
202029.6%
202131.9%
202216.0%
202318.6%

2023: 18.6%. Across these years the share ran from 15.1% to 45.8%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

These are the 97 tests reported to CDC for Dawson County over 2023, many from homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: they describe the county's reported tests, not 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

Dawson County, Compared

Dawson County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

Dawson County's 97 reported tests in 2023 had a middle value of 2.0 pCi/L and a maximum of 7.7 pCi/L, and 18.6% reached 4 pCi/L. Nebraska as a whole (86 Nebraska counties, pooled) comes to 38.2%: 19.6 points higher than here.

Among its state's counties it ranks 30th of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Gage County reported the highest share (79.8%) and Dakota County the lowest (3.1%).

Below the action level, 48 tests (49.5%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 39.2% statewide, and 31 tests (32.0%) fell between 2 and 4, against 22.6% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2018, with 498 tests reported; the quietest, 2022, had 50.

EPA's 1993 zone map puts Dawson County in Zone 2, a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 76% of the county's land moderate radon potential.

Next door, the shares run from 12.2% in Lincoln County to 65.1% in Phelps County, with Lincoln County below Dawson County. Over 10 years of annual figures the share fell 7.2 points, from 25.8% in 2014 to 18.6% in 2023; its peak was 45.8% in 2016.

CDC also counts 9 tests taken after mitigation in Dawson County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Dawson County against Nebraska2014 to 2023, years with 30 or more tests: Dawson County 25.8% to 18.6%, the state's pooled share 38.2% in 2023.
Dawson CountyNebraska, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Dawson County against Nebraska: data table
YearTestsDawson County, at or above 4 pCi/LNebraska, pooled
201427925.8%50.5%
201522839.5%53.3%
201639345.8%47.4%
201727034.4%47.7%
201849815.1%44.5%
201916841.1%44.3%
202016229.6%42.2%
202114131.9%34.9%
20225016.0%34.0%
20239718.6%38.2%
Dawson County against Nebraska, the United States and nearby counties, 2023
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Dawson County
Dawson County9718.6%2.0 pCi/LThis county
Nebraska, pooled86 counties, pooled11,16338.2%Not pooled+19.6 points
United States, pooled642 counties, pooled128,74033.4%Not pooled+14.8 points
Gage Countyhighest in the state8479.8%9.4 pCi/L+61.2 points
Dakota Countylowest in the state1303.1%0.4 pCi/L−15.5 points
Gosper County, NEborders it7100.0%8.6 pCi/L+81.4 points
Frontier County, NEborders it4100.0%10.2 pCi/L+81.4 points
Phelps County, NEborders it4365.1%4.9 pCi/L+46.5 points
Buffalo County, NEborders it17355.5%4.2 pCi/L+36.9 points
Custer County, NEborders it1450.0%4.0 pCi/L+31.4 points
Lincoln County, NEborders it27112.2%2.1 pCi/L−6.4 points
Where Dawson County's reported results fell, 2023, beside Nebraska and the United States
ResultDawson County testsDawson County shareNebraska shareU.S. shareAgainst Nebraska
Under 2 pCi/L4849.5%39.2%41.4%+10.3 points
2 to 4 pCi/L3132.0%22.6%25.2%+9.4 points
4 pCi/L and above1818.6%38.2%33.4%−19.6 points
Dawson County ranked among the 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2023
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Sarpy County23 of 3375551.9%4.1 pCi/L
Douglas County24 of 332,75438.7%2.9 pCi/L
Cheyenne County25 of 335536.4%3.6 pCi/L
Box Butte County26 of 335435.2%3.3 pCi/L
Scotts Bluff County27 of 3327327.5%1.8 pCi/L
Lancaster County28 of 334,05826.7%1.6 pCi/L
Platte County29 of 3321226.4%1.6 pCi/L
Dawson County30 of 339718.6%2.0 pCi/L
Hall County31 of 3325317.8%1.7 pCi/L
Lincoln County32 of 3327112.2%2.1 pCi/L
Dakota County33 of 331303.1%0.4 pCi/L
Dawson County radon tests by year, against Nebraska's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestNebraska, pooledChange from the row before
20239718.6%2.0 pCi/L7.7 pCi/L38.2%+2.6 points
20225016.0%1.0 pCi/L9.0 pCi/L34.0%−15.9 points
202114131.9%2.7 pCi/L13.5 pCi/L34.9%+2.3 points
202016229.6%3.3 pCi/L14.9 pCi/L42.2%−11.5 points
201916841.1%2.8 pCi/L109.0 pCi/L44.3%+26.0 points
201849815.1%1.6 pCi/L28.4 pCi/L44.5%−19.3 points
201727034.4%3.0 pCi/L13.6 pCi/L47.7%−11.4 points
201639345.8%3.6 pCi/L28.1 pCi/L47.4%+6.3 points
201522839.5%2.6 pCi/L18.9 pCi/L53.3%+13.7 points
201427925.8%2.5 pCi/L16.1 pCi/L50.5%First on file

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

Dawson County, Geology

The ground under Dawson County

Predicted

Most of the ground under Dawson County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 76.1% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 23.9% high. The map puts 76.1% of Dawson County in the area it calls Loess over Tertiary sediments and 23.9% in Loess over K-T. USGS gives the first a radon index of 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11), and the second 13, in the high band (12 to 17).

USGS's geologic areas under Dawson County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Loess over Tertiary sedimentsTertiary bedrock covered by varying thicknesses of loess.Moderate1176.1%
Loess over K-TLoess-mantled Tertiary and Cretaceous bedrock.High1323.9%

Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.

Dawson County beside the ground around it

Nebraska as a whole has more high-potential ground than Dawson County: 40.9% of its land, against 23.9% here. Of the 6 counties that border it, 4 have more high-potential ground, Frontier County the most at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Dawson County, the 6 counties bordering it and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Dawson CountyZone 2None76.1%23.9%
Gosper CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Phelps CountyZone 1None7.0%93.0%
Custer CountyZone 29.0%91.0%None
Frontier CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Buffalo CountyZone 2None100%None
Lincoln CountyZone 362.2%12.6%25.2%
Nebraska93 counties, pooled by land areaVaries28.2%30.9%40.9%

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

Local help

Dawson County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Dawson 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

Dawson County, Questions

Questions about radon in Dawson County

Are radon levels high in Dawson County?

In 2023, 18.6% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Dawson County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.0 pCi/L. Of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 29 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 38.2%.

Which counties border Dawson County?

Dawson County borders 6 counties: Gosper County, Phelps County, Custer County, Frontier County, Buffalo County and Lincoln County.

Products

Dawson County, Products

Testing a home in Dawson County

In Dawson County, 18.6% of 97 tests reported to CDC in 2023 reached 4 pCi/L, against 38.2% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Dawson County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Dawson County homes, compared

Explore

Dawson County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Dawson County

Calculated by Radon411

Dawson County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Dawson County

The Census Bureau estimates 24,452 residents in Dawson County for July 1, 2025, 369 more than in 2020 (+1.5%). That works out to 24 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Lexington, has 11,176 residents, 45.7% of the total. Together its 7 incorporated places hold 80.3% of those residents; the other 19.7% live outside any of them. CDC's 97 reported tests for 2023 work out to 4.0 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Nebraska's 5.5.

From Lexington to Eddyville, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Dawson County's.

The cities and towns in Dawson County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Lexington11,176+4.6%45.7%
Cozad3,924−1.4%16.0%
Gothenburg3,430−1.3%14.0%
Overton594−1.8%2.4%
Sumner244−3.2%1.0%
Farnam178−0.6%0.7%
Eddyville84Level0.3%

7 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).

Dawson County, Homes

Homes in Dawson County

Dawson County is a place of houses on their own lots: 76% of its 9,905 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. Half of its homes were built before 1968, close to Nebraska's 1975: 39% date from before 1960 and 12% from 2000 or later. 65% 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 in Dawson County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesDawson CountyNebraska
Housing units9,905855,631
Detached houses76%72%
In buildings of 5 or more10%17%
Mobile homes8%3%
Built before 196039%32%
Built since 200012%22%
Middle year built19681975
Owner-occupied65%67%

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