Short-term kitFirst Alert
RD1 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 2 to 4 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Keith County, Nebraska
EPA puts Keith County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 6 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
55.0%
3.5 pts below NE
- Keith
- 55.0%
- Nebraska
- 58.5%
120 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
4.3pCi/L
Action level reached
- Keith
- 4.3 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
120
53rd of 77 by tests
- Keith
- 120
- Douglas
- 8,556
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
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
53 of 77
Middle half
- Keith
- 55.0%
- Clay
- 85.1%
By share, of 77 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Keith County
Starts at Keith County's median, 4.3 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.3 pCi/L
At or above 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 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. Keith County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Keith County, At a glance
Keith County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Keith County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 57% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Keith County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 9.1% |
| 2015 | 60.0% |
| 2016 | 37.0% |
| 2017 | 26.5% |
| 2018 | 25.9% |
| 2019 | 44.4% |
| 2020 | 6.3% |
| 2021 | 41.7% |
| 2022 | 25.0% |
| 2023 | 0.0% |
2023: 0.0%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 60.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 6 tests were reported to CDC for Keith 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).
Keith County, Compared
Keith County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 55.0% of the 120 radon tests reported to CDC for Keith County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 53rd of 77 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 3.5 points below the 58.5% pooled from 93 Nebraska counties.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 6 tests (0.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 120-test figure.
The median result, 4.3 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 16.0 pCi/L. The rest split 10.8% under 2 pCi/L and 34.2% from 2 to 4 (Nebraska: 18.6% and 22.8%). The reported tests do not follow EPA's Zone 2 label for Keith County (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L): 55.0% of them reached 4 pCi/L, fewer than that label suggests.
No bordering county with a figure for the same period reported a higher share; the closest is Perkins County at 50.0%, the lowest Lincoln County at 27.0%. Statewide for the same period, Clay County reported the highest share (85.1%) and Cherry County the lowest (13.3%).
The busiest year on file was 2017, with 102 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 6.
Over 8 years of annual figures the share rose 32.6 points, from 9.1% in 2014 to 41.7% in 2021; its peak was 60.0% in 2015. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Keith County sits 19.3 points above it.
Keith CountyNebraska, pooled
| Year | Tests | Keith County, at or above 4 pCi/L | Nebraska, pooled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 33 | 9.1% | 50.5% |
| 2015 | 45 | 60.0% | 53.3% |
| 2016 | 81 | 37.0% | 47.4% |
| 2017 | 102 | 26.5% | 47.7% |
| 2018 | 81 | 25.9% | 44.5% |
| 2019 | 81 | 44.4% | 44.3% |
| 2020 | 48 | 6.3% | 42.2% |
| 2021 | 36 | 41.7% | 34.9% |
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Keith County, Geology
The ground under Keith County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map splits Keith County: 56.6% of its land is moderate radon potential and 1.8% high and 41.6% low. The map puts 56.6% of Keith County in the area it calls Tertiary Rocks and 41.6% in Sand Hills, with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11), and the second 8, in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tertiary Rocks | Tertiary sandstone, siltstone, and volcanic ash. | Moderate | 11 | 56.6% |
| Sand Hills | Quaternary windblown sand. | Low | 8 | 41.6% |
| Ogallala Formation | Tertiary sandstone, in part covered by windblown eolian sand and loess deposits. | High | 12 | 1.8% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Keith County beside the ground around it
Nebraska as a whole has more high-potential ground than Keith County: 40.9% of its land, against 1.8% here. Of the 6 counties that border it, 3 have more high-potential ground, Lincoln County the most at 25.2%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Keith County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Keith 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
Keith County, Questions
Questions about radon in Keith County
Are radon levels high in Keith County?
In 2023, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Keith County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.3 pCi/L. Of 77 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 52 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 58.5%.
Which counties border Keith County?
Keith County borders 6 counties: Perkins County, Arthur County, Deuel County, McPherson County, Garden County and Lincoln County.
Products
Keith County, Products
Testing a home in Keith County
In Keith County, 55.0% of 120 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 58.5% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Keith County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Monitor
EcoQube Flex battery digital radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- Alarm
- Screen, app
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 15 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Keith County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Keith County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Perkins CountyEPA zone 2
50.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.0 pCi/L · 40 tests · 5.0 points below Keith County
- Radon levels in Deuel CountyEPA zone 2
42.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.5 pCi/L · 49 tests · 12.1 points below Keith County
- Radon levels in Garden CountyEPA zone 3
37.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.5 pCi/L · 56 tests · 17.5 points below Keith County
- Radon levels in Lincoln CountyEPA zone 3
27.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.6 pCi/L · 895 tests · 28.0 points below Keith County
- Radon levels in Arthur CountyEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 9 tests · 55.0 points below Keith County
- Radon levels in McPherson CountyEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.0 pCi/L · 10 tests · 55.0 points below Keith County
Keith County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Keith County
About 8,100 people live in Keith County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 223 fewer than in 2020 (−2.7%). Spread over its land, that is 7.6 people to the square mile. Ogallala alone is home to 4,698 of them, 58.0% of the total. Together its 3 incorporated places hold 68.0% of those residents; the other 32.0% live outside any of them. CDC's 120 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 work out to 14.8 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Nebraska's 21.2.
From Ogallala to Brule, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Keith County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ogallala | 4,698 | −3.5% | 58.0% |
| Paxton | 502 | −2.1% | 6.2% |
| Brule | 304 | −7.6% | 3.8% |
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).
Keith County, Homes
Homes in Keith County
Of Keith County's 5,395 homes, 69% are detached houses, against 72% across Nebraska; 18% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1974, close to Nebraska's 1975: 29% date from before 1960 and 15% from 2000 or later. 71% 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 | Keith County | Nebraska |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 5,395 | 855,631 |
| Detached houses | 69% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 5% | 17% |
| Mobile homes | 18% | 3% |
| Built before 1960 | 29% | 32% |
| Built since 2000 | 15% | 22% |
| Middle year built | 1974 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 71% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.