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Radon Levels in Howard County, Nebraska

EPA puts Howard County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 9 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

    24.4%

    28.9 pts below NE

    Howard
    24.4%
    Nebraska
    53.3%

    123 tests, 2015

  • Median result

    2.5pCi/L

    Below action level

    Howard
    2.5 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2015

  • Tests reported

    123

    50th of 73 by tests

    Howard
    123
    Douglas
    20,157

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2015

  • 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

    73 of 73

    Lowest quarter

    Howard
    24.4%
    Thurston
    80.0%

    By share, of 73 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Howard County

Starts at Howard County's median, 2.5 pCi/L

2.5pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 2.5 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. Howard County's median reported result, 2015.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Howard County, At a glance

Howard County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Howard 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 83% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Howard County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Howard County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Howard County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201421.4%
201524.4%
201638.5%
201761.1%
201845.7%
201952.8%
202045.0%
202111.1%
202210.3%
202344.4%

2023: 44.4%. Across these years the share ran from 10.3% to 61.1%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

Only 9 tests were reported to CDC for Howard 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

Howard County, Compared

Howard County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

Howard County's 123 reported tests in 2015 had a middle value of 2.5 pCi/L and a maximum of 10.3 pCi/L, and 24.4% reached 4 pCi/L. Nebraska as a whole (89 Nebraska counties, pooled) comes to 53.3%: 28.9 points higher than here.

The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 9 tests (44.4% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 123-test figure.

Among its state's counties it ranks 73rd of 73 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Thurston County reported the highest share (80.0%) and Lincoln County the lowest (27.6%).

Below the action level, 48 tests (39.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 20.6% statewide, and 45 tests (36.6%) fell between 2 and 4, against 26.1% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2015, with 123 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 9.

EPA's 1993 zone map puts Howard County in Zone 2, a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 83% of the county's land moderate radon potential.

Next door, the shares run from 28.6% in Merrick County to 61.1% in Sherman County. Over 9 years of annual figures the share fell 11.1 points, from 21.4% in 2014 to 10.3% in 2022; its peak was 61.1% in 2017.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Howard County against Nebraska2014 to 2022, years with 30 or more tests: Howard County 21.4% to 10.3%, the state's pooled share 34.0% in 2022.
Howard CountyNebraska, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Howard County against Nebraska: data table
YearTestsHoward County, at or above 4 pCi/LNebraska, pooled
20148421.4%50.5%
201512324.4%53.3%
20163938.5%47.4%
20175461.1%47.7%
201810545.7%44.5%
201910852.8%44.3%
20206045.0%42.2%
20215411.1%34.9%
20223910.3%34.0%
Howard County against Nebraska, the United States and nearby counties, 2015
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Howard County
Howard County12324.4%2.5 pCi/LThis county
Nebraska, pooled89 counties, pooled61,36253.3%Not pooled+28.9 points
United States, pooled842 counties, pooled454,88735.5%Not pooled+11.1 points
Thurston Countyhighest in the state13580.0%9.2 pCi/L+55.6 points
Lincoln Countylowest in the state51027.6%2.6 pCi/L+3.2 points
Sherman County, NEborders it10861.1%5.1 pCi/L+36.7 points
Nance County, NEborders it10858.3%4.0 pCi/L+33.9 points
Buffalo County, NEborders it1,89352.0%4.1 pCi/L+27.6 points
Greeley County, NEborders it933.3%2.9 pCi/L+8.9 points
Hall County, NEborders it95730.1%2.9 pCi/L+5.7 points
Merrick County, NEborders it10528.6%2.2 pCi/L+4.2 points
Where Howard County's reported results fell, 2015, beside Nebraska and the United States
ResultHoward County testsHoward County shareNebraska shareU.S. shareAgainst Nebraska
Under 2 pCi/L4839.0%20.6%40.0%+18.4 points
2 to 4 pCi/L4536.6%26.1%24.4%+10.5 points
4 pCi/L and above3024.4%53.3%35.5%−28.9 points
Howard County ranked among the 73 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2015
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Cheyenne County63 of 7342643.7%3.5 pCi/L
Chase County64 of 735141.2%3.8 pCi/L
Dawson County65 of 7322839.5%2.6 pCi/L
Hitchcock County66 of 735438.9%3.3 pCi/L
Holt County67 of 7313533.3%2.5 pCi/L
Hall County68 of 7395730.1%2.9 pCi/L
Merrick County69 of 7310528.6%2.2 pCi/L
Box Butte County70 of 7313828.3%2.8 pCi/L
Sheridan County71 of 737528.0%2.7 pCi/L
Lincoln County72 of 7351027.6%2.6 pCi/L
Howard County73 of 7312324.4%2.5 pCi/L
Howard County radon tests by year, against Nebraska's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestNebraska, pooledChange from the row before
2023944.4%3.3 pCi/L10.6 pCi/L38.2%+34.1 points
20223910.3%1.6 pCi/L8.4 pCi/L34.0%−0.8 points
20215411.1%2.0 pCi/L17.3 pCi/L34.9%−33.9 points
20206045.0%3.3 pCi/L13.6 pCi/L42.2%−7.8 points
201910852.8%4.1 pCi/L14.3 pCi/L44.3%+7.1 points
201810545.7%3.7 pCi/L10.6 pCi/L44.5%−15.4 points
20175461.1%4.5 pCi/L20.1 pCi/L47.7%+22.6 points
20163938.5%2.5 pCi/L11.7 pCi/L47.4%+14.1 points
201512324.4%2.5 pCi/L10.3 pCi/L53.3%+3.0 points
20148421.4%2.2 pCi/L16.3 pCi/L50.5%First on file

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

Howard County, Geology

The ground under Howard County

Predicted

Most of the ground under Howard County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 83.4% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 16.6% high. The map puts 83.4% of Howard County in the area it calls Loess over Tertiary sediments and 16.6% in Pre-Wisconsin glacial deposits. 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 Howard County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Loess over Tertiary sedimentsTertiary bedrock covered by varying thicknesses of loess.Moderate1183.4%
Pre-Wisconsin glacial depositsLoess-mantled glacial drift.High1316.6%

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

Howard County beside the ground around it

Nebraska as a whole has more high-potential ground than Howard County: 40.9% of its land, against 16.6% here. Of the 6 counties that border it, 3 have more high-potential ground, Greeley County the most at 81.3%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Howard County, the 6 counties bordering it and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Howard CountyZone 2None83.4%16.6%
Hall CountyZone 2None79.7%20.3%
Merrick CountyZone 2None99.2%0.8%
Sherman CountyZone 2None100%None
Greeley CountyZone 113.5%5.2%81.3%
Nance CountyZone 1None35.5%64.5%
Buffalo CountyZone 2None100%None
Nebraska93 counties, pooled by land areaVaries28.2%30.9%40.9%

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

Local help

Howard County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Howard 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

Howard County, Questions

Questions about radon in Howard County

Are radon levels high in Howard County?

In 2023, 44.4% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Howard County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 3.3 pCi/L. Of 73 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 72 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 53.3%.

Which counties border Howard County?

Howard County borders 6 counties: Hall County, Merrick County, Sherman County, Greeley County, Nance County and Buffalo County.

Products

Howard County, Products

Testing a home in Howard County

In Howard County, 24.4% of 123 tests reported to CDC in 2015 reached 4 pCi/L, against 53.3% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Howard County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Howard County homes, compared

Explore

Howard County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Howard County

Calculated by Radon411

Howard County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Howard County

The Census Bureau estimates 6,538 residents in Howard County for July 1, 2025, 51 more than in 2020 (+0.8%). That works out to 11 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, St. Paul, has 2,416 residents, 37.0% of the total. Together its 7 incorporated places hold 49.9% of those residents; the other 50.1% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 123 tests over 2015, or 18.8 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Nebraska as a whole comes to 30.4.

From St. Paul to Cotesfield, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Howard County's.

The cities and towns in Howard County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
St. Paul2,416−0.3%37.0%
Dannebrog273+1.1%4.2%
Elba199+2.1%3.0%
Howard City (Boelus)175+1.7%2.7%
Farwell130−3.0%2.0%
Cushing36+5.9%0.6%
Cotesfield31+3.3%0.5%

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).

Howard County, Homes

Homes in Howard County

Howard County is a place of houses on their own lots: 90% of its 2,893 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. The homes are older than Nebraska's as a whole: half were built before 1966 (1975 for Nebraska), and 46% date from before 1960. 74% 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 Howard County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesHoward CountyNebraska
Housing units2,893855,631
Detached houses90%72%
In buildings of 5 or more3%17%
Mobile homes3%3%
Built before 196046%32%
Built since 200012%22%
Middle year built19661975
Owner-occupied74%67%

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