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Radon Levels in Otoe County, Nebraska

EPA puts Otoe County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 64.4% of the 59 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

    64.4%

    26.2 pts above NE

    Otoe
    64.4%
    Nebraska
    38.2%

    59 tests, 2023

  • Median result

    5.7pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Otoe
    5.7 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2023

  • Tests reported

    59

    20th of 33 by tests

    Otoe
    59
    Lancaster
    4,058

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2023

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Nebraska

    15 of 33

    Middle half

    Otoe
    64.4%
    Gage
    79.8%

    By share, of 33 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Otoe County

Starts at Otoe County's median, 5.7 pCi/L

5.7pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 5.7 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. Otoe County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Otoe County, At a glance

Otoe County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential

EPA puts all of Otoe County in and predicts an average indoor of greater than 4 pCi/L (greater than 150 Bq/m³) across the county. That is one forecast for the whole county, not a reading of any address in it; homes above EPA's turn up in all three zones.

USGS geologic potential: High across 100% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Otoe County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Otoe County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Otoe County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201447.2%
201563.1%
201657.3%
201752.2%
201859.0%
201955.2%
202068.4%
202167.6%
202267.9%
202364.4%

2023: 64.4%. Across these years the share ran from 47.2% to 68.4%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

These are the 59 tests reported to CDC for Otoe County over 2023, many from homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: they describe the county's reported tests, not 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

Otoe County, Compared

Otoe County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

More than half: 64.4% of the 59 radon tests reported to CDC for Otoe County in 2023 read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 15th of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 26.2 points above the 38.2% pooled from 86 Nebraska counties.

The median result, 5.7 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 35.6 pCi/L. The rest split 18.6% under 2 pCi/L and 16.9% from 2 to 4 (Nebraska: 39.2% and 22.6%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 64.4% share point the same way here.

2 of its 4 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Gage County at 79.8%; Lancaster County reported 26.7%. Statewide for the same period, Gage County reported the highest share (79.8%) and Dakota County the lowest (3.1%).

The busiest year on file was 2017, with 834 tests reported; the quietest, 2022, had 56.

Over 10 years of annual figures the share rose 17.2 points, from 47.2% in 2014 to 64.4% in 2023; its peak was 68.4% in 2020. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 33.4%; Otoe County sits 31.0 points above it. CDC also counts 29 tests taken after mitigation in Otoe County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Otoe County against Nebraska2014 to 2023, years with 30 or more tests: Otoe County 47.2% to 64.4%, the state's pooled share 38.2% in 2023.
Otoe CountyNebraska, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Otoe County against Nebraska: data table
YearTestsOtoe County, at or above 4 pCi/LNebraska, pooled
201448947.2%50.5%
201553763.1%53.3%
201655557.3%47.4%
201783452.2%47.7%
201848359.0%44.5%
201946255.2%44.3%
202035168.4%42.2%
202120467.6%34.9%
20225667.9%34.0%
20235964.4%38.2%
Otoe County against Nebraska, the United States and nearby counties, 2023
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Otoe County
Otoe County5964.4%5.7 pCi/LThis county
Nebraska, pooled86 counties, pooled11,16338.2%Not pooled−26.2 points
United States, pooled642 counties, pooled128,74033.4%Not pooled−31.0 points
Cedar Countyhighest in the state5078.0%6.8 pCi/L+13.6 points
Dakota Countylowest in the state1303.1%0.4 pCi/L−61.3 points
Atchison County, MOborders it3100.0%14.7 pCi/L+35.6 points
Gage County, NEborders it8479.8%9.4 pCi/L+15.4 points
Cass County, NEborders it11168.5%5.5 pCi/L+4.1 points
Johnson County, NEborders it1861.1%4.7 pCi/L−3.3 points
Nemaha County, NEborders it3259.4%5.7 pCi/L−5.0 points
Lancaster County, NEborders it4,05826.7%1.6 pCi/L−37.7 points
Where Otoe County's reported results fell, 2023, beside Nebraska and the United States
ResultOtoe County testsOtoe County shareNebraska shareU.S. shareAgainst Nebraska
Under 2 pCi/L1118.6%39.2%41.4%−20.6 points
2 to 4 pCi/L1016.9%22.6%25.2%−5.7 points
4 pCi/L and above3864.4%38.2%33.4%+26.2 points
Otoe County ranked among the 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2023
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Madison County10 of 3321366.7%5.8 pCi/L
Adams County11 of 3315566.5%4.8 pCi/L
Phelps County12 of 334365.1%4.9 pCi/L
Hamilton County13 of 334864.6%5.0 pCi/L
York County14 of 336264.5%5.7 pCi/L
Otoe County15 of 335964.4%5.7 pCi/L
Red Willow County16 of 335362.3%4.6 pCi/L
Dodge County17 of 3311662.1%5.0 pCi/L
Richardson County18 of 333461.8%5.1 pCi/L
Knox County19 of 334660.9%4.7 pCi/L
Nemaha County20 of 333259.4%5.7 pCi/L
Otoe County radon tests by year, against Nebraska's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestNebraska, pooledChange from the row before
20235964.4%5.7 pCi/L35.6 pCi/L38.2%−3.5 points
20225667.9%6.5 pCi/L27.4 pCi/L34.0%+0.3 points
202120467.6%6.0 pCi/L19.8 pCi/L34.9%−0.8 points
202035168.4%6.2 pCi/L26.1 pCi/L42.2%+13.2 points
201946255.2%4.5 pCi/L34.1 pCi/L44.3%−3.8 points
201848359.0%4.9 pCi/L33.6 pCi/L44.5%+6.8 points
201783452.2%4.5 pCi/L32.5 pCi/L47.7%−5.1 points
201655557.3%5.1 pCi/L34.2 pCi/L47.4%−5.8 points
201553763.1%5.9 pCi/L37.7 pCi/L53.3%+15.9 points
201448947.2%3.6 pCi/L40.6 pCi/L50.5%First on file

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

Otoe County, Geology

The ground under Otoe County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Otoe County'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 Otoe County
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.

Otoe County beside the ground around it

Otoe County has more high-potential ground than Nebraska as a whole: 100% of its land against 40.9%. Of the 7 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Cass County comes nearest at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Otoe County, the 7 counties bordering it and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Otoe CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Johnson CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Nemaha CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Cass CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Fremont County, IAZone 1NoneNone100%
Lancaster CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Gage CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Atchison County, MOZone 1NoneNone100%
Nebraska93 counties, pooled by land areaVaries28.2%30.9%40.9%

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

Local help

Otoe County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Otoe County

Listed radon businesses with an address in Otoe County:

Listed radon professionals by town: Nebraska City

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

Otoe County, Questions

Questions about radon in Otoe County

Are radon levels high in Otoe County?

In 2023, 64.4% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Otoe County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.7 pCi/L. Of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 14 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 38.2%.

Which counties border Otoe County?

Otoe County borders 7 counties: Johnson County, NE, Nemaha County, NE, Cass County, NE, Fremont County, IA, Lancaster County, NE, Gage County, NE and Atchison County, MO.

Products

Otoe County, Products

Testing a home in Otoe County

In Otoe County, 64.4% of 59 tests reported to CDC in 2023 reached 4 pCi/L, against 38.2% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Otoe County is the one to know: a long-term test (more than 90 days) or a monitor, with a short-term kit for a first answer.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Otoe County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Otoe County

Explore

Otoe County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Otoe County

Calculated by Radon411

Otoe County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Otoe County

The Census Bureau estimates 16,531 residents in Otoe County for July 1, 2025, 627 more than in 2020 (+3.9%). That works out to 27 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Nebraska City, has 7,512 residents, 45.4% of the total. Together its 10 incorporated places hold 67.8% of those residents; the other 32.2% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 59 tests over 2023, or 3.6 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Nebraska as a whole comes to 5.5.

From Nebraska City to Lorton, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Otoe County's.

The cities and towns in Otoe County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Nebraska City7,512+4.1%45.4%
Syracuse2,006+3.2%12.1%
Palmyra565+8.0%3.4%
Unadilla305+3.7%1.8%
Talmage206+2.5%1.2%
Douglas179+5.3%1.1%
Dunbar169+3.0%1.0%
Otoe169+1.8%1.0%
Burr55+3.8%0.3%
Lorton38+8.6%0.2%

10 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).

Otoe County, Homes

Homes in Otoe County

Otoe County is a place of houses on their own lots: 86% of its 6,987 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. The homes are older than Nebraska's as a whole: half were built before 1967 (1975 for Nebraska), and 44% date from before 1960. Owners live in 80% of the occupied homes (Nebraska: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Otoe County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesOtoe CountyNebraska
Housing units6,987855,631
Detached houses86%72%
In buildings of 5 or more6%17%
Mobile homes3%3%
Built before 196044%32%
Built since 200021%22%
Middle year built19671975
Owner-occupied80%67%

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