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Radon in Lincoln, Nebraska

EPA puts Lancaster County, where Lincoln is, in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 26.7% of its 4,058 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

    26.7%

    11.5 pts below NE

    Lancaster
    26.7%
    Nebraska
    38.2%

    Lancaster, 28th of 33 in NE, 2023

  • Median result

    1.6pCi/L

    Below action level

    Lancaster
    1.6 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of Lancaster's tests, 2023

  • Nearest county

    77.3%

    Seward, 25 miles

    Seward
    77.3%
    Lancaster
    26.7%

    88 tests, 2023

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    Lancaster, where Lincoln is

  • Tests reported

    4,058

    In Lancaster

    Lancaster
    4,058
    Seward
    88

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2023

Read a result for Lincoln

Starts at Lancaster County's median, 1.6 pCi/L

1.6pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 1.6 pCi/L

Below 2 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 below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Lancaster County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this reading

The data

Lincoln, What is published

What is published for Lincoln

Information:

Every figure for Lincoln is a county's

Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Lincoln it is Lancaster County's: its EPA zone (Zone 1) and the 4,058 tests reported to CDC for 2023. Only a test tells you about one home.

Lincoln covers 97.7 square miles of land, all of it in Lancaster County. About 301,522 people live there, 3,087 to the square mile.

Lincoln, Counties

The county Lincoln lies in

Measured

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

Lancaster CountyZone 1Highest predicted potential

26.7%
Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
1.6 pCi/L
Median reported result
4,058 tests
Tests reported to CDC
10
Annual years on file

Lancaster County ranks 28th of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 11.5 points below the 38.2% pooled across Nebraska's counties, 6.7 points below the national pool of 33.4%.

Measured from the middle of Lincoln, the nearest counties with a CDC figure for 2023 are Seward County (25 miles, 77.3% of 88 tests), Saunders County (29 miles, 73.2% of 97 tests) and Cass County (29 miles, 68.5% of 111 tests). Across the 8 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 38.7% to 79.8%; the farthest of them, York County, is 48 miles away at 64.5%.

The directory lists 18 businesses with an address in Lincoln, 17 for testing and 5 for mitigation. Nebraska's other cities with a page of their own: Omaha and Kearney.

The counties around Lincoln

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

Nearest counties to Lincoln with 30 or more tests
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Seward County25 mi8877.3%7.8 pCi/L
Saunders County29 mi9773.2%6.2 pCi/L
Cass County29 mi11168.5%5.5 pCi/L
Otoe County31 mi5964.4%5.7 pCi/L
Sarpy County36 mi75551.9%4.1 pCi/L
Gage County38 mi8479.8%9.4 pCi/L
Douglas County43 mi2,75438.7%2.9 pCi/L
York County48 mi6264.5%5.7 pCi/L

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

Lincoln, Geology

The ground under Lincoln

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Lincoln's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Pre-Wisconsin glacial deposits, to which USGS gives a radon index of 13, in the high band (12 to 17).

USGS's geologic areas under Lincoln
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Pre-Wisconsin glacial depositsLoess-mantled glacial drift.High13100%

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

Lincoln beside its county and Nebraska

All of Lincoln, like all of Lancaster County, is rated high. Lincoln has more high-potential ground than Nebraska as a whole: 100% of its land against 40.9%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Lincoln, the county it lies in and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
LincolnBy countyNoneNone100%
Lancaster CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Nebraska93 counties, pooled by land areaVaries28.2%30.9%40.9%

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

Lincoln, Homes

Homes in Lincoln

Of Lincoln's 126,403 homes, 56% are detached houses, against 59% across Lancaster County; 28% are in buildings of five or more homes. Half of its homes were built before 1981, close to Lancaster County's 1981: 26% date from before 1960 and 27% from 2000 or later. 56% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Lancaster County: 59%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Lincoln, Lancaster County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesLincolnLancaster CountyNebraska
Housing units126,403138,232855,631
Detached houses56%59%72%
In buildings of 5 or more28%26%17%
Mobile homes2%2%3%
Built before 196026%25%32%
Built since 200027%28%22%
Middle year built198119811975
Owner-occupied56%59%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

Lincoln, Professionals

Radon professionals listed in Lincoln

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

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

Lincoln, Local resources

Local resources for Lincoln

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

Lincoln, Questions

Questions about radon in Lincoln

What radon zone is Lincoln in?

EPA's map puts Lancaster County, and with it Lincoln, in Zone 1, the map's highest class: a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L.

What are radon levels in Lincoln?

Around Lincoln, 26.7% of 4,058 tests reported from Lancaster County for 2023 reached 4 pCi/L or more, so a high result is no surprise here. The median reported result was 1.6 pCi/L.

Should I test my home in Lincoln?

Yes. Lancaster County reported about 1,083 of its 4,058 tests at or above 4 pCi/L. That is below Nebraska's pooled 38.2%, and still not a reason to skip it, and ranks Lancaster County 28th 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 Lincoln built on, as far as radon goes?

USGS's geologic map puts all of Lincoln on one named area, "Pre-Wisconsin glacial deposits", rated high for radon potential, radon index 13.

Is radon higher in the counties around Lincoln?

Higher, in every direction measured: all 8 of the nearest counties with a figure report a larger share of high tests than Lancaster County's 26.7%, up to Gage County (79.8%, 38 miles off).

Who tests for or fixes radon in Lincoln?

Lincoln is the address of 18 businesses in Radon411's directory, 17 listed for testing and 5 for mitigation. Each entry names the public list it came from. Radon professionals in Lincoln.

The answers use the published figures of Lancaster County, the county Lincoln lies in.

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