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Radon Levels in Pierce County, Nebraska

EPA puts Pierce County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 56.4% of the 55 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

    56.4%

    18.2 pts above NE

    Pierce
    56.4%
    Nebraska
    38.2%

    55 tests, 2023

  • Median result

    5.0pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Pierce
    5.0 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2023

  • Tests reported

    55

    21st of 33 by tests

    Pierce
    55
    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

    21 of 33

    Middle half

    Pierce
    56.4%
    Gage
    79.8%

    By share, of 33 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Pierce County

Starts at Pierce County's median, 5.0 pCi/L

5.0pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 5.0 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. Pierce County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Pierce County, At a glance

Pierce County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential

EPA puts all of Pierce 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 57% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Pierce County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Pierce County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Pierce County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201441.7%
201550.0%
201645.3%
201757.4%
201847.5%
201951.4%
202045.2%
202150.0%
202234.7%
202356.4%

2023: 56.4%. Across these years the share ran from 34.7% to 57.4%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

These are the 55 tests reported to CDC for Pierce 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

Pierce County, Compared

Pierce County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

More than half: 56.4% of the 55 radon tests reported to CDC for Pierce County in 2023 read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 21st of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 18.2 points above the 38.2% pooled from 86 Nebraska counties.

The median result, 5.0 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 28.4 pCi/L. The rest split 20.0% under 2 pCi/L and 23.6% from 2 to 4 (Nebraska: 39.2% and 22.6%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 56.4% share point the same way here.

All 5 of its bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Cedar County at 78.0%; the lowest of them, Knox County, reported 60.9%. 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 2018, with 303 tests reported; the quietest, 2022, had 49.

Over 10 years of annual figures the share rose 14.7 points, from 41.7% in 2014 to 56.4% in 2023; its peak was 57.4% in 2017. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 33.4%; Pierce County sits 23.0 points above it. CDC also counts 14 tests taken after mitigation in Pierce 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, Pierce County against Nebraska2014 to 2023, years with 30 or more tests: Pierce County 41.7% to 56.4%, the state's pooled share 38.2% in 2023.
Pierce CountyNebraska, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Pierce County against Nebraska: data table
YearTestsPierce County, at or above 4 pCi/LNebraska, pooled
201418041.7%50.5%
201518650.0%53.3%
201619245.3%47.4%
201720457.4%47.7%
201830347.5%44.5%
201910551.4%44.3%
202012645.2%42.2%
202112050.0%34.9%
20224934.7%34.0%
20235556.4%38.2%
Pierce County against Nebraska, the United States and nearby counties, 2023
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Pierce County
Pierce County5556.4%5.0 pCi/LThis county
Nebraska, pooled86 counties, pooled11,16338.2%Not pooled−18.2 points
United States, pooled642 counties, pooled128,74033.4%Not pooled−23.0 points
Gage Countyhighest in the state8479.8%9.4 pCi/L+23.4 points
Dakota Countylowest in the state1303.1%0.4 pCi/L−53.3 points
Cedar County, NEborders it5078.0%6.8 pCi/L+21.6 points
Wayne County, NEborders it4374.4%6.9 pCi/L+18.0 points
Antelope County, NEborders it2774.1%4.6 pCi/L+17.7 points
Stanton County, NEborders it3268.8%7.8 pCi/L+12.4 points
Madison County, NEborders it21366.7%5.8 pCi/L+10.3 points
Knox County, NEborders it4660.9%4.7 pCi/L+4.5 points
Where Pierce County's reported results fell, 2023, beside Nebraska and the United States
ResultPierce County testsPierce County shareNebraska shareU.S. shareAgainst Nebraska
Under 2 pCi/L1120.0%39.2%41.4%−19.2 points
2 to 4 pCi/L1323.6%22.6%25.2%+1.0 points
4 pCi/L and above3156.4%38.2%33.4%+18.2 points
Pierce 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
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
Pierce County21 of 335556.4%5.0 pCi/L
Buffalo County22 of 3317355.5%4.2 pCi/L
Sarpy County23 of 3375551.9%4.1 pCi/L
Douglas County24 of 332,75438.7%2.9 pCi/L
Cheyenne County25 of 335536.4%3.6 pCi/L
Box Butte County26 of 335435.2%3.3 pCi/L
Pierce County radon tests by year, against Nebraska's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestNebraska, pooledChange from the row before
20235556.4%5.0 pCi/L28.4 pCi/L38.2%+21.7 points
20224934.7%3.0 pCi/L61.5 pCi/L34.0%−15.3 points
202112050.0%4.0 pCi/L18.9 pCi/L34.9%+4.8 points
202012645.2%3.4 pCi/L37.8 pCi/L42.2%−6.2 points
201910551.4%4.0 pCi/L13.2 pCi/L44.3%+3.9 points
201830347.5%3.8 pCi/L29.0 pCi/L44.5%−9.9 points
201720457.4%5.8 pCi/L30.6 pCi/L47.7%+12.1 points
201619245.3%3.2 pCi/L32.4 pCi/L47.4%−4.7 points
201518650.0%3.9 pCi/L55.8 pCi/L53.3%+8.3 points
201418041.7%3.2 pCi/L22.9 pCi/L50.5%First on file

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

Pierce County, Geology

The ground under Pierce County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map splits Pierce County: 56.8% of its land is high radon potential and 43.2% moderate. The map puts 56.8% of Pierce County in the area it calls Pre-Wisconsin glacial deposits and 43.2% in Pierre Shale. USGS gives the first a radon index of 13, in the high band (12 to 17), and the second 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Pierce County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Pre-Wisconsin glacial depositsLoess-mantled glacial drift.High1356.8%
Pierre ShaleCretaceous marine shaleModerate1143.2%

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

Pierce County beside the ground around it

Pierce County has more high-potential ground than Nebraska as a whole: 56.8% of its land against 40.9%. Of the 6 counties that border it, 5 have more high-potential ground, Stanton County the most at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Pierce County, the 6 counties bordering it and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Pierce CountyZone 1None43.2%56.8%
Madison CountyZone 1None10.0%90.0%
Antelope CountyZone 22.5%81.2%16.3%
Wayne CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Stanton CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Knox CountyZone 1None20.0%80.0%
Cedar CountyZone 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

Pierce County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Pierce County

Listed radon businesses with an address in Pierce County:

Listed radon professionals by town: Plainview, Osmond

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

Pierce County, Questions

Questions about radon in Pierce County

Are radon levels high in Pierce County?

In 2023, 56.4% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Pierce County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.0 pCi/L. Of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 20 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 38.2%.

Which counties border Pierce County?

Pierce County borders 6 counties: Madison County, Antelope County, Wayne County, Stanton County, Knox County and Cedar County.

Products

Pierce County, Products

Testing a home in Pierce County

In Pierce County, 56.4% of 55 tests reported to CDC in 2023 reached 4 pCi/L, against 38.2% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Pierce 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

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

Explore

Pierce County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Pierce County

Calculated by Radon411

Pierce County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Pierce County

Pierce County's population has barely moved since 2020: 7,378 residents on July 1, 2025 against 7,344 then, by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 13 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Pierce, has 1,849 residents, 25.1% of the total. CDC's 55 reported tests for 2023 work out to 7.5 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Nebraska's 5.5.

From Pierce to McLean, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Pierce County's.

The cities and towns in Pierce County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Pierce1,849−0.5%25.1%
Plainview1,284−0.4%17.4%
Randolphextends beyond Pierce County892+0.8%Counted whole
Osmond803+1.1%10.9%
Hadar291+2.5%3.9%
Foster46+2.2%0.6%
McLean38Level0.5%

7 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). A place that extends beyond Pierce County is counted whole, so it has no share.

Pierce County, Homes

Homes in Pierce County

Pierce County is a place of houses on their own lots: 91% of its 3,137 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. The homes are older than Nebraska's as a whole: half were built before 1959 (1975 for Nebraska), and 51% date from before 1960. Owners live in 79% of the occupied homes (Nebraska: 67%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Pierce County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesPierce CountyNebraska
Housing units3,137855,631
Detached houses91%72%
In buildings of 5 or more2%17%
Mobile homes4%3%
Built before 196051%32%
Built since 200010%22%
Middle year built19591975
Owner-occupied79%67%

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