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 Saline County, Nebraska
EPA puts Saline County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 29 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
52.3%
7.8 pts above NE
- Saline
- 52.3%
- Nebraska
- 44.5%
333 tests, 2018
Median result
4.4pCi/L
Action level reached
- Saline
- 4.4 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2018
Tests reported
333
27th of 73 by tests
- Saline
- 333
- Lancaster
- 17,193
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2018
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
39 of 73
Middle half
- Saline
- 52.3%
- Colfax
- 74.1%
By share, of 73 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Saline County
Starts at Saline County's median, 4.4 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.4 pCi/L
At or above 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 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. Saline County's median reported result, 2018.
The data
Saline County, At a glance
Saline County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Saline County in
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 Saline County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 61.5% |
| 2015 | 71.9% |
| 2016 | 58.3% |
| 2017 | 65.7% |
| 2018 | 52.3% |
| 2019 | 65.7% |
| 2020 | 69.6% |
| 2021 | 60.9% |
| 2022 | 75.0% |
| 2023 | 51.7% |
2023: 51.7%. Across these years the share ran from 51.7% to 75.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 29 tests were reported to CDC for Saline 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).
Saline County, Compared
Saline County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 52.3% of the 333 radon tests reported to CDC for Saline County in 2018 read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 39th of 73 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 7.8 points above the 44.5% pooled from 85 Nebraska counties.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 29 tests (51.7% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 333-test figure.
The median result, 4.4 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 47.3 pCi/L. The rest split 20.7% under 2 pCi/L and 27.0% from 2 to 4 (Nebraska: 30.7% and 24.8%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 52.3% share point the same way here.
6 of its 7 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by York County at 71.5%; Lancaster County reported 31.5%. Statewide for the same period, Colfax County reported the highest share (74.1%) and Cherry County the lowest (10.0%).
The busiest year on file was 2018, with 333 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 29.
Over 9 years of annual figures the share rose 13.5 points, from 61.5% in 2014 to 75.0% in 2022; its peak was 75.0% in 2022. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 29.1%; Saline County sits 23.2 points above it. CDC also counts 45 tests taken after mitigation in Saline County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
Saline CountyNebraska, pooled
75.0% % of tests34.0% % of tests
| Year | Tests | Saline County, at or above 4 pCi/L | Nebraska, pooled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 234 | 61.5% | 50.5% |
| 2015 | 192 | 71.9% | 53.3% |
| 2016 | 288 | 58.3% | 47.4% |
| 2017 | 297 | 65.7% | 47.7% |
| 2018 | 333 | 52.3% | 44.5% |
| 2019 | 201 | 65.7% | 44.3% |
| 2020 | 168 | 69.6% | 42.2% |
| 2021 | 138 | 60.9% | 34.9% |
| 2022 | 32 | 75.0% | 34.0% |
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Saline County, Geology
The ground under Saline County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Saline 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).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Wisconsin glacial deposits | Loess-mantled glacial drift. | High | 13 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Saline County beside the ground around it
Saline 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; Fillmore County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Saline County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Saline County
Listed radon businesses with an address in Saline 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.
Listed radon professionals by town: Friend
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
Saline County, Questions
Questions about radon in Saline County
Are radon levels high in Saline County?
In 2023, 51.7% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Saline County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 4.2 pCi/L. Of 73 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 38 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 44.5%.
Which counties border Saline County?
Saline County borders 7 counties: Seward County, Fillmore County, York County, Jefferson County, Lancaster County, Gage County and Thayer County.
Products
Saline County, Products
Testing a home in Saline County
In Saline County, 52.3% of 333 tests reported to CDC in 2018 reached 4 pCi/L, against 44.5% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Saline 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
RadonScan USB-powered radon monitor with a color screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Plug-in
- Alarm
- Screen
First reading: Within 5 minutes
Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Saline County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Saline County
Explore
Saline County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Saline County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in York CountyEPA zone 1
71.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 7.3 pCi/L · 516 tests · 19.2 points above Saline County
- Radon levels in Gage CountyEPA zone 1
69.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 7.0 pCi/L · 561 tests · 16.7 points above Saline County
- Radon levels in Thayer CountyEPA zone 1
68.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 7.0 pCi/L · 183 tests · 16.6 points above Saline County
- Radon levels in Seward CountyEPA zone 1
66.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.7 pCi/L · 663 tests · 13.8 points above Saline County
- Radon levels in Jefferson CountyEPA zone 1
64.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.1 pCi/L · 213 tests · 12.5 points above Saline County
- Radon levels in Fillmore CountyEPA zone 1
64.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.1 pCi/L · 153 tests · 12.4 points above Saline County
- Radon levels in Lancaster CountyEPA zone 1
31.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 17,193 tests · 20.8 points below Saline County
Saline County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Saline County
The Census Bureau estimates 14,996 residents in Saline County for July 1, 2025, 280 more than in 2020 (+1.9%). That works out to 26 people per square mile of land. Crete alone is home to 7,747 of them, 51.7% of the total. Together its 8 incorporated places hold 81.6% of those residents; the other 18.4% live outside any of them. CDC's 333 reported tests for 2018 work out to 22.2 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Nebraska's 31.1.
From Crete to Swanton, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Saline County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crete | 7,747 | +2.3% | 51.7% |
| Wilber | 1,978 | +0.4% | 13.2% |
| Friend | 950 | +0.2% | 6.3% |
| Dorchester | 625 | +1.3% | 4.2% |
| De Witt | 520 | −0.6% | 3.5% |
| Western | 229 | Level | 1.5% |
| Tobias | 115 | −1.7% | 0.8% |
| Swanton | 78 | Level | 0.5% |
8 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).
Saline County, Homes
Homes in Saline County
Saline County is a place of houses on their own lots: 84% of its 5,774 homes are detached single-family houses, against 72% across Nebraska. The homes are older than Nebraska's as a whole: half were built before 1965 (1975 for Nebraska), and 45% date from before 1960. 74% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Nebraska: 67%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Saline County | Nebraska |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 5,774 | 855,631 |
| Detached houses | 84% | 72% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 8% | 17% |
| Mobile homes | 4% | 3% |
| Built before 1960 | 45% | 32% |
| Built since 2000 | 10% | 22% |
| Middle year built | 1965 | 1975 |
| Owner-occupied | 74% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.