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Radon in Kearney, Nebraska

EPA puts Buffalo County, where Kearney is, in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and high results are common there: 55.5% of the 173 radon tests reported to CDC (2023) came back 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

    55.5%

    17.3 pts above NE

    Buffalo
    55.5%
    Nebraska
    38.2%

    Buffalo, 22nd of 33 in NE, 2023

  • Median result

    4.2pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Buffalo
    4.2 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of Buffalo's tests, 2023

  • Nearest county

    65.1%

    Phelps, 22 miles

    Phelps
    65.1%
    Buffalo
    55.5%

    43 tests, 2023

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    Buffalo, where Kearney is

  • Tests reported

    173

    In Buffalo

    Buffalo
    173
    Phelps
    43

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2023

Read a result for Kearney

Starts at Buffalo County's median, 4.2 pCi/L

4.2pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 4.2 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. Buffalo County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Kearney, What is published

What is published for Kearney

Information:

Every figure for Kearney is a county's

Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Kearney it is Buffalo County's: its EPA zone (Zone 2) and the 173 tests reported to CDC for 2023. Only a test tells you about one home.

Kearney covers 14.5 square miles of land, all of it in Buffalo County. About 34,782 people live there, 2,393 to the square mile.

Kearney, Counties

The county Kearney lies in

Measured

Buffalo County's EPA zone and the figures CDC publishes for it, 2023.

Buffalo CountyZone 2Moderate predicted potential

55.5%
Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
4.2 pCi/L
Median reported result
173 tests
Tests reported to CDC
10
Annual years on file

Buffalo County ranks 22nd of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 17.3 points above the 38.2% pooled across Nebraska's counties, 22.1 points above the national pool of 33.4%.

Measured from the middle of Kearney, the nearest counties with a CDC figure for 2023 are Phelps County (22 miles, 65.1% of 43 tests), Hall County (33 miles, 17.8% of 253 tests) and Adams County (33 miles, 66.5% of 155 tests). Across the 8 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 12.2% to 66.5%; the farthest of them, Lincoln County, is 90 miles away at 12.2%.

The directory lists 3 businesses with an address in Kearney, 3 for testing and 1 for mitigation. Nebraska's other cities with a page of their own: Omaha and Lincoln.

The counties around Kearney

By distance from the middle of Kearney; counties with 30 or more tests.

Nearest counties to Kearney with 30 or more tests
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Phelps County22 mi4365.1%4.9 pCi/L
Hall County33 mi25317.8%1.7 pCi/L
Adams County33 mi15566.5%4.8 pCi/L
Dawson County40 mi9718.6%2.0 pCi/L
Hamilton County57 mi4864.6%5.0 pCi/L
York County79 mi6264.5%5.7 pCi/L
Red Willow County82 mi5362.3%4.6 pCi/L
Lincoln County90 mi27112.2%2.1 pCi/L

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2023.

Kearney, Geology

The ground under Kearney

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Kearney's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Loess over Tertiary sediments, to which USGS gives a radon index of 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Kearney
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Loess over Tertiary sedimentsTertiary bedrock covered by varying thicknesses of loess.Moderate11100%

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

Kearney beside its county and Nebraska

All of Kearney, like all of Buffalo County, is rated moderate. Across Nebraska 40.9% of the land is rated high; none of Kearney's is.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Kearney, the county it lies in and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
KearneyBy countyNone100%None
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.

Kearney, Homes

Homes in Kearney

Of Kearney's 14,652 homes, 57% are detached houses, against 66% across Buffalo County; 20% are in buildings of five or more homes. Half of its homes were built before 1981, close to Buffalo County's 1979: 20% date from before 1960 and 25% from 2000 or later. 59% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Buffalo County: 65%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Kearney, Buffalo County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesKearneyBuffalo CountyNebraska
Housing units14,65221,181855,631
Detached houses57%66%72%
In buildings of 5 or more20%15%17%
Mobile homes5%6%3%
Built before 196020%24%32%
Built since 200025%24%22%
Middle year built198119791975
Owner-occupied59%65%67%

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

Local help

Kearney, Professionals

Radon professionals listed in Kearney

Businesses whose listed city is Kearney, from the state registries and listings in the Radon411 directory, with the same business and certification status the directory shows.

3 listings with Kearney as the city. See radon mitigation and testing in Kearney, or all radon professionals in Nebraska.

Kearney, Local resources

Local resources for Kearney

Who to ask in Nebraska: its radon program, test kits and professionals.

The program's own words on licensing are on the Nebraska page.

What it means

Kearney, Questions

Questions about radon in Kearney

What radon zone is Kearney in?

EPA's map puts Buffalo County, and with it Kearney, in Zone 2, the map's middle class: a predicted county average of 2 to 4 pCi/L.

What are radon levels in Kearney?

High results are ordinary around Kearney: 55.5% of the 173 tests reported from Buffalo County for 2023 were at or above 4 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says to fix a home. The median reported result was 4.2 pCi/L.

Should I test my home in Kearney?

Yes. Buffalo County reported about 96 of its 173 tests at or above 4 pCi/L. That is above Nebraska's pooled 38.2%, and ranks Buffalo County 22nd of the 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests. Which homes they were, no map can say. How to test a home.

What ground is Kearney built on, as far as radon goes?

USGS's geologic map puts all of Kearney on one named area, "Loess over Tertiary sediments", rated moderate for radon potential, radon index 11.

Is radon higher in the counties around Kearney?

It depends which way you go. 5 of the 8 nearest counties with a figure report a larger share than Buffalo County's 55.5% and 3 a smaller one: from Lincoln County (12.2%, 90 miles off) to Adams County (66.5%, 33 miles off).

Who tests for or fixes radon in Kearney?

Kearney is the address of 3 businesses in Radon411's directory, 3 listed for testing and 1 for mitigation. Each entry names the public list it came from. Radon professionals in Kearney.

The answers use the published figures of Buffalo County, the county Kearney lies in.

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