Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Pawnee County, Nebraska
EPA puts Pawnee County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 4 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
42.2%
7.3 pts above NE
- Pawnee
- 42.2%
- Nebraska
- 34.9%
327 tests, 2021
Median result
3.2pCi/L
Below action level
- Pawnee
- 3.2 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2021
Tests reported
327
18th of 59 by tests
- Pawnee
- 327
- Douglas
- 10,416
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2021
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Nebraska
35 of 59
Middle half
- Pawnee
- 42.2%
- Burt
- 74.5%
By share, of 59 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Pawnee County
Starts at Pawnee County's median, 3.2 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 3.2 pCi/L
Between 2 and 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 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. Pawnee County's median reported result, 2021.
The data
Pawnee County, At a glance
Pawnee County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Pawnee County in
USGS geologic potential: High across 99% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Pawnee County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 77.8% |
| 2015 | 69.2% |
| 2016 | 37.5% |
| 2017 | 46.9% |
| 2018 | 60.0% |
| 2019 | 55.2% |
| 2020 | 63.6% |
| 2021 | 42.2% |
| 2022 | 42.9% |
| 2023 | 50.0% |
2023: 50.0%. Across these years the share ran from 37.5% to 77.8%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 4 tests were reported to CDC for Pawnee 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).
Pawnee County, Compared
Pawnee County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411In Pawnee County, about 4 in 10 reported tests in 2021 (138 of 327) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 24.4%, the gap is 17.8 points higher. Across 83 Nebraska counties pooled together, 34.9% of tests reached that level, so Pawnee County runs 7.3 points above its state.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 4 tests (50.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 327-test figure.
Of 6 neighbours with a figure, 5 reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L and 1 a smaller one; the spread is 36.6% (Richardson County) to 71.4% (Nemaha County). By share, Pawnee County is 35th of 59 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.
Year by year, 2015 opened at 69.2% and 2021 closed at 42.2% (down 27.0 points), with 2015 the high at 69.2%. Half the tests came in under 3.2 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 26.3 pCi/L. Below the action level, 105 tests (32.1%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 40.4% statewide, and 84 tests (25.7%) fell between 2 and 4, against 24.7% statewide.
Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 42.2% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 99% of the county's land high radon potential.
The busiest year on file was 2021, with 327 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 4.
Pawnee CountyNebraska, pooled
| Year | Tests | Pawnee County, at or above 4 pCi/L | Nebraska, pooled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 39 | 69.2% | 53.3% |
| 2016 | 96 | 37.5% | 47.4% |
| 2017 | 96 | 46.9% | 47.7% |
| 2018 | 60 | 60.0% | 44.5% |
| 2019 | 87 | 55.2% | 44.3% |
| 2020 | 33 | 63.6% | 42.2% |
| 2021 | 327 | 42.2% | 34.9% |
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Pawnee County, Geology
The ground under Pawnee County
PredictedMost of the ground under Pawnee County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 98.7% of its land is high radon potential, with 1.3% moderate. 98.3% 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).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Wisconsin glacial deposits | Loess-mantled glacial drift. | High | 13 | 98.3% |
| Glaciated Area | Glacial till underlain by Pennsylvanian and Permian marine and nonmarine sedimentary shale, sandstone, limestone, coal. | Moderate | 9 | 1.3% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Pawnee County beside the ground around it
Pawnee County has more high-potential ground than Nebraska as a whole: 98.7% of its land against 40.9%. Of the 6 counties that border it, 4 have more high-potential ground, Gage County the most at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Pawnee County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Pawnee 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
Pawnee County, Questions
Questions about radon in Pawnee County
Are radon levels high in Pawnee County?
In 2023, 50.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Pawnee County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.1 pCi/L. Of 59 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 34 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 34.9%.
Which counties border Pawnee County?
Pawnee County borders 6 counties: Johnson County, NE, Nemaha County, KS, Gage County, NE, Richardson County, NE, Nemaha County, NE and Marshall County, KS.
Products
Pawnee County, Products
Testing a home in Pawnee County
In Pawnee County, 42.2% of 327 tests reported to CDC in 2021 reached 4 pCi/L, against 34.9% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Pawnee 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
Monitor
Wave Plus battery radon and air quality monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- App only
Method: Alpha spectrometry
Short-term kitempowerDX
Standard Radon Test short-term mail-in radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Passive sampler
In home: 48 to 96 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Pawnee County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Pawnee County
Explore
Pawnee County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Pawnee County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Nemaha County, NEEPA zone 1
71.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 7.5 pCi/L · 105 tests · 29.2 points above Pawnee County
- Radon levels in Marshall County, KSEPA zone 1
63.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.3 pCi/L · 99 tests · 21.4 points above Pawnee County
- Radon levels in Gage County, NEEPA zone 1
63.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.5 pCi/L · 417 tests · 21.1 points above Pawnee County
- Radon levels in Johnson County, NEEPA zone 1
60.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.6 pCi/L · 45 tests · 17.8 points above Pawnee County
- Radon levels in Nemaha County, KSEPA zone 1
53.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.8 pCi/L · 39 tests · 11.6 points above Pawnee County
- Radon levels in Richardson County, NEEPA zone 1
36.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.9 pCi/L · 402 tests · 5.6 points below Pawnee County
Pawnee County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Pawnee County
About 2,510 people live in Pawnee County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 26 fewer than in 2020 (−1.0%). Spread over its land, that is 5.8 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Pawnee City, has 836 residents, 33.3% of the total. Together its 6 incorporated places hold 55.1% of those residents; the other 44.9% live outside any of them. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 327 reported tests for 2021 come to 130 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 19.0 for Nebraska.
From Pawnee City to Steinauer, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Pawnee County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnee City | 836 | −3.0% | 33.3% |
| Table Rock | 234 | Level | 9.3% |
| Du Bois | 121 | −0.8% | 4.8% |
| Burchard | 75 | −2.6% | 3.0% |
| Lewiston | 60 | +1.7% | 2.4% |
| Steinauer | 57 | −1.7% | 2.3% |
6 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).
Pawnee County, Homes
Homes in Pawnee County
Pawnee County is a place of houses on their own lots: 93% of its 1,410 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. The homes are older than Nebraska's as a whole: half were built before 1945 (1975 for Nebraska), and 59% date from before 1960. 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 | Pawnee County | Nebraska |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 1,410 | 855,631 |
| Detached houses | 93% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 1% | 17% |
| Mobile homes | 3% | 3% |
| Built before 1960 | 59% | 32% |
| Built since 2000 | 10% | 22% |
| Middle year built | 1945 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 81% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.