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Radon Levels in Merrick County, Nebraska

EPA puts Merrick County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 12 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

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  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    26.3%

    32.2 pts below NE

    Merrick
    26.3%
    Nebraska
    58.5%

    171 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    2.3pCi/L

    Below action level

    Merrick
    2.3 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Tests reported

    171

    49th of 77 by tests

    Merrick
    171
    Douglas
    8,556

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

  • 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

    76 of 77

    Lowest quarter

    Merrick
    26.3%
    Clay
    85.1%

    By share, of 77 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Merrick County

Starts at Merrick County's median, 2.3 pCi/L

2.3pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 2.3 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. Merrick County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Merrick County, At a glance

Merrick County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Merrick 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 99% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Merrick County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Merrick County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Merrick County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201434.4%
201528.6%
201621.1%
201727.5%
201833.3%
20193.4%
202022.2%
202133.3%
20220.0%
202316.7%

2023: 16.7%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 34.4%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

Only 12 tests were reported to CDC for Merrick 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

Merrick County, Compared

Merrick County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

Merrick County's 171 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 2.3 pCi/L and a maximum of 14.5 pCi/L, and 26.3% reached 4 pCi/L. Nebraska as a whole (93 Nebraska counties, pooled) comes to 58.5%: 32.2 points higher than here.

The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 12 tests (16.7% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 171-test figure.

Among its state's counties it ranks 76th of 77 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Clay County reported the highest share (85.1%) and Cherry County the lowest (13.3%).

Below the action level, 74 tests (43.3%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 18.6% statewide, and 52 tests (30.4%) fell between 2 and 4, against 22.8% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2017, with 120 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 12.

EPA's 1993 zone map puts Merrick County in Zone 2, a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 99% of the county's land moderate radon potential.

Next door, the shares run from 32.5% in Howard County to 77.1% in Polk County. Over 9 years of annual figures the share fell 34.4 points, from 34.4% in 2014 to 0.0% in 2022; its peak was 34.4% in 2014.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Merrick County against Nebraska2014 to 2022, years with 30 or more tests: Merrick County 34.4% to 0.0%, the state's pooled share 34.0% in 2022.
Merrick CountyNebraska, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Merrick County against Nebraska: data table
YearTestsMerrick County, at or above 4 pCi/LNebraska, pooled
20149634.4%50.5%
201510528.6%53.3%
201611421.1%47.4%
201712027.5%47.7%
20189933.3%44.5%
2019873.4%44.3%
20208122.2%42.2%
20213633.3%34.9%
2022300.0%34.0%
Merrick County against Nebraska, the United States and nearby counties, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Merrick County
Merrick County17126.3%2.3 pCi/LThis county
Nebraska, pooled93 counties, pooled42,78258.5%Not pooled+32.2 points
United States, pooled2,661 counties, pooled2,013,54435.7%Not pooled+9.4 points
Clay Countyhighest in the state19485.1%8.6 pCi/L+58.8 points
Cherry Countylowest in the state3013.3%1.7 pCi/L−13.0 points
Polk County, NEborders it18877.1%6.8 pCi/L+50.8 points
Hamilton County, NEborders it36674.9%6.7 pCi/L+48.6 points
Nance County, NEborders it17160.8%5.3 pCi/L+34.5 points
Platte County, NEborders it98151.5%4.1 pCi/L+25.2 points
Hall County, NEborders it1,24536.7%3.2 pCi/L+10.4 points
Howard County, NEborders it11432.5%2.5 pCi/L+6.2 points
Where Merrick County's reported results fell, 2008 to 2017, laboratory, beside Nebraska and the United States
ResultMerrick County testsMerrick County shareNebraska shareU.S. shareAgainst Nebraska
Under 2 pCi/L7443.3%18.6%39.6%+24.7 points
2 to 4 pCi/L5230.4%22.8%24.7%+7.6 points
4 pCi/L and above4526.3%58.5%35.7%−32.2 points
Merrick County ranked among the 77 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Holt County67 of 7734942.7%3.3 pCi/L
Dawson County68 of 7723942.7%3.2 pCi/L
Brown County69 of 776241.9%3.7 pCi/L
Garden County70 of 775637.5%3.5 pCi/L
Hall County71 of 771,24536.7%3.2 pCi/L
Box Butte County72 of 7728736.2%3.2 pCi/L
Sheridan County73 of 7710734.6%2.9 pCi/L
Howard County74 of 7711432.5%2.5 pCi/L
Lincoln County75 of 7789527.0%2.6 pCi/L
Merrick County76 of 7717126.3%2.3 pCi/L
Cherry County77 of 773013.3%1.7 pCi/L
Merrick County radon tests by year, against Nebraska's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestNebraska, pooledChange from the row before
20231216.7%1.9 pCi/L8.2 pCi/L38.2%+16.7 points
2022300.0%0.8 pCi/L3.3 pCi/L34.0%−33.3 points
20213633.3%1.5 pCi/L7.2 pCi/L34.9%+11.1 points
20208122.2%2.2 pCi/L9.6 pCi/L42.2%+18.8 points
2019873.4%0.8 pCi/L7.5 pCi/L44.3%−29.9 points
20189933.3%2.8 pCi/L15.3 pCi/L44.5%+5.8 points
201712027.5%2.3 pCi/L19.2 pCi/L47.7%+6.4 points
201611421.1%2.3 pCi/L9.2 pCi/L47.4%−7.5 points
201510528.6%2.2 pCi/L15.1 pCi/L53.3%−5.8 points
20149634.4%2.9 pCi/L17.8 pCi/L50.5%First on file

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

Merrick County, Geology

The ground under Merrick County

Predicted

Most of the ground under Merrick County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 99.2% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 0.8% high. 99.2% 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 Merrick County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Loess over Tertiary sedimentsTertiary bedrock covered by varying thicknesses of loess.Moderate1199.2%
Pre-Wisconsin glacial depositsLoess-mantled glacial drift.High130.8%

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

Merrick County beside the ground around it

Nebraska as a whole has more high-potential ground than Merrick County: 40.9% of its land, against 0.8% here. Every one of the 6 counties that border it has more high-potential ground, Hamilton County the most at 87.4%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Merrick County, the 6 counties bordering it and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Merrick CountyZone 2None99.2%0.8%
Hamilton CountyZone 1None12.6%87.4%
Nance CountyZone 1None35.5%64.5%
Howard CountyZone 2None83.4%16.6%
Polk CountyZone 1None26.1%73.9%
Hall CountyZone 2None79.7%20.3%
Platte CountyZone 1None17.4%82.6%
Nebraska93 counties, pooled by land areaVaries28.2%30.9%40.9%

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

Local help

Merrick County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Merrick 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

Merrick County, Questions

Questions about radon in Merrick County

Are radon levels high in Merrick County?

In 2023, 16.7% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Merrick County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.9 pCi/L. Of 77 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 75 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 58.5%.

Which counties border Merrick County?

Merrick County borders 6 counties: Hamilton County, Nance County, Howard County, Polk County, Hall County and Platte County.

Products

Merrick County, Products

Testing a home in Merrick County

In Merrick County, 26.3% of 171 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 Merrick County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Merrick County homes, compared

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Merrick County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Merrick County

Calculated by Radon411

Merrick County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Merrick County

The Census Bureau estimates 7,905 residents in Merrick County for July 1, 2025, 249 more than in 2020 (+3.3%). That works out to 16 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Central City, has 3,184 residents, 40.3% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 57.6% of those residents; the other 42.4% live outside any of them. CDC's 171 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 work out to 21.6 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Nebraska's 21.2.

From Central City to Chapman, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Merrick County's.

The cities and towns in Merrick County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Central City3,184+5.6%40.3%
Palmer443+1.1%5.6%
Clarks338−0.9%4.3%
Silver Creek323+1.9%4.1%
Chapman265+2.3%3.4%

5 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).

Merrick County, Homes

Homes in Merrick County

Merrick County is a place of houses on their own lots: 88% of its 3,584 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. Half of its homes were built before 1968, close to Nebraska's 1975: 43% date from before 1960 and 16% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 81% of the occupied homes (Nebraska: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Merrick County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesMerrick CountyNebraska
Housing units3,584855,631
Detached houses88%72%
In buildings of 5 or more3%17%
Mobile homes3%3%
Built before 196043%32%
Built since 200016%22%
Middle year built19681975
Owner-occupied81%67%

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