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Radon Levels in Wayne County, Nebraska

EPA puts Wayne County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 74.4% of the 43 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

    74.4%

    36.2 pts above NE

    Wayne
    74.4%
    Nebraska
    38.2%

    43 tests, 2023

  • Median result

    6.9pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Wayne
    6.9 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2023

  • Tests reported

    43

    28th of 33 by tests

    Wayne
    43
    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

    5 of 33

    Top quarter

    Wayne
    74.4%
    Gage
    79.8%

    By share, of 33 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Wayne County

Starts at Wayne County's median, 6.9 pCi/L

6.9pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 6.9 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. Wayne County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Wayne County, At a glance

Wayne County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential

EPA puts all of Wayne 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 Wayne County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Wayne County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Wayne County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201474.0%
201578.0%
201666.9%
201753.4%
201866.7%
201950.0%
202063.3%
202156.9%
202270.0%
202374.4%

2023: 74.4%. Across these years the share ran from 50.0% to 78.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

These are the 43 tests reported to CDC for Wayne 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

Wayne County, Compared

Wayne County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

More than half: 74.4% of the 43 radon tests reported to CDC for Wayne County in 2023 read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 5th of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 36.2 points above the 38.2% pooled from 86 Nebraska counties.

The median result, 6.9 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 19.1 pCi/L. The rest split 11.6% under 2 pCi/L and 14.0% from 2 to 4 (Nebraska: 39.2% and 22.6%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 74.4% share point the same way here.

1 of its 5 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Cedar County at 78.0%; Pierce County reported 56.4%. 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 2015, with 492 tests reported; the quietest, 2022, had 40.

Over 10 years of annual figures the share held within 2 points, from 74.0% in 2014 to 74.4% in 2023; its peak was 78.0% in 2015. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 33.4%; Wayne County sits 41.0 points above it. CDC also counts 6 tests taken after mitigation in Wayne 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, Wayne County against Nebraska2014 to 2023, years with 30 or more tests: Wayne County 74.0% to 74.4%, the state's pooled share 38.2% in 2023.
Wayne CountyNebraska, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Wayne County against Nebraska: data table
YearTestsWayne County, at or above 4 pCi/LNebraska, pooled
201428874.0%50.5%
201549278.0%53.3%
201639066.9%47.4%
201748353.4%47.7%
201837866.7%44.5%
201919250.0%44.3%
202014763.3%42.2%
202115356.9%34.9%
20224070.0%34.0%
20234374.4%38.2%
Wayne County against Nebraska, the United States and nearby counties, 2023
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Wayne County
Wayne County4374.4%6.9 pCi/LThis county
Nebraska, pooled86 counties, pooled11,16338.2%Not pooled−36.2 points
United States, pooled642 counties, pooled128,74033.4%Not pooled−41.0 points
Gage Countyhighest in the state8479.8%9.4 pCi/L+5.4 points
Dakota Countylowest in the state1303.1%0.4 pCi/L−71.3 points
Cedar County, NEborders it5078.0%6.8 pCi/L+3.6 points
Dixon County, NEborders it2272.7%9.1 pCi/L−1.7 points
Cuming County, NEborders it3770.3%6.8 pCi/L−4.1 points
Stanton County, NEborders it3268.8%7.8 pCi/L−5.6 points
Madison County, NEborders it21366.7%5.8 pCi/L−7.7 points
Pierce County, NEborders it5556.4%5.0 pCi/L−18.0 points
Thurston County, NEborders it850.0%4.0 pCi/L−24.4 points
Where Wayne County's reported results fell, 2023, beside Nebraska and the United States
ResultWayne County testsWayne County shareNebraska shareU.S. shareAgainst Nebraska
Under 2 pCi/L511.6%39.2%41.4%−27.6 points
2 to 4 pCi/L614.0%22.6%25.2%−8.6 points
4 pCi/L and above3274.4%38.2%33.4%+36.2 points
Wayne 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
Gage County1 of 338479.8%9.4 pCi/L
Cedar County2 of 335078.0%6.8 pCi/L
Seward County3 of 338877.3%7.8 pCi/L
Washington County4 of 337176.1%6.5 pCi/L
Wayne County5 of 334374.4%6.9 pCi/L
Saunders County6 of 339773.2%6.2 pCi/L
Cuming County7 of 333770.3%6.8 pCi/L
Stanton County8 of 333268.8%7.8 pCi/L
Cass County9 of 3311168.5%5.5 pCi/L
Madison County10 of 3321366.7%5.8 pCi/L
Adams County11 of 3315566.5%4.8 pCi/L
Wayne County radon tests by year, against Nebraska's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestNebraska, pooledChange from the row before
20234374.4%6.9 pCi/L19.1 pCi/L38.2%+4.4 points
20224070.0%6.8 pCi/L24.3 pCi/L34.0%+13.1 points
202115356.9%5.1 pCi/L23.8 pCi/L34.9%−6.4 points
202014763.3%6.5 pCi/L40.7 pCi/L42.2%+13.3 points
201919250.0%3.9 pCi/L33.3 pCi/L44.3%−16.7 points
201837866.7%5.5 pCi/L56.6 pCi/L44.5%+13.3 points
201748353.4%4.6 pCi/L59.7 pCi/L47.7%−13.5 points
201639066.9%6.7 pCi/L49.1 pCi/L47.4%−11.1 points
201549278.0%9.3 pCi/L49.7 pCi/L53.3%+4.0 points
201428874.0%6.6 pCi/L44.0 pCi/L50.5%First on file

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

Wayne County, Geology

The ground under Wayne County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Wayne 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 Wayne 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.

Wayne County beside the ground around it

Wayne 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; Cuming County comes nearest at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Wayne County, the 7 counties bordering it and Nebraska
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Wayne CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Stanton CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Dixon CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Cuming CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Pierce CountyZone 1None43.2%56.8%
Thurston CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Madison CountyZone 1None10.0%90.0%
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

Wayne County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Wayne County

Listed radon businesses with an address in Wayne County:

Listed radon professionals by town: Wayne

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

Wayne County, Questions

Questions about radon in Wayne County

Are radon levels high in Wayne County?

In 2023, 74.4% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Wayne County, Nebraska were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 6.9 pCi/L. Of 33 Nebraska counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 4 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 38.2%.

Which counties border Wayne County?

Wayne County borders 7 counties: Stanton County, Dixon County, Cuming County, Pierce County, Thurston County, Madison County and Cedar County.

Products

Wayne County, Products

Testing a home in Wayne County

In Wayne County, 74.4% of 43 tests reported to CDC in 2023 reached 4 pCi/L, against 38.2% pooled across Nebraska. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Wayne 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

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

Explore

Wayne County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Wayne County

Calculated by Radon411

Wayne County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Wayne County

The Census Bureau estimates 10,020 residents in Wayne County for July 1, 2025, 315 more than in 2020 (+3.2%). That works out to 23 people per square mile of land. Wayne alone is home to 6,338 of them, 63.3% of the total. CDC's 43 reported tests for 2023 work out to 4.3 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Nebraska's 5.5.

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

The cities and towns in Wayne County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Wayne6,338+6.0%63.3%
Wakefieldextends beyond Wayne County1,527+0.3%Counted whole
Winside367−2.7%3.7%
Hoskins273+3.4%2.7%
Carroll181−2.7%1.8%
Sholes17Level0.2%

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

Wayne County, Homes

Homes in Wayne County

Wayne County is a place of houses on their own lots: 77% of its 3,973 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 43% date from before 1960. 68% 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 in Wayne County, Nebraska, 2019 to 2023
HomesWayne CountyNebraska
Housing units3,973855,631
Detached houses77%72%
In buildings of 5 or more11%17%
Mobile homes2%3%
Built before 196043%32%
Built since 200021%22%
Middle year built19671975
Owner-occupied68%67%

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