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Radon in Reno, Nevada

EPA puts Washoe County, where Reno is, in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 22.2% of its 5,046 reported radon tests (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) were 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

    22.2%

    0.6 pts below NV

    Washoe
    22.2%
    Nevada
    22.8%

    Washoe, 7th of 11 in NV, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    1.9pCi/L

    Below action level

    Washoe
    1.9 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of Washoe's tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Nearest county

    17.6%

    Storey, 18 miles

    Storey
    17.6%
    Washoe
    22.2%

    34 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    Washoe, where Reno is

  • Tests reported

    5,046

    In Washoe

    Washoe
    5,046
    Storey
    34

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

Read a result for Reno

Starts at Washoe County's median, 1.9 pCi/L

1.9pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 1.9 pCi/L

Below 2 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 below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Washoe County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this reading

The data

Reno, What is published

What is published for Reno

Information:

Every figure for Reno is a county's

Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Reno it is Washoe County's: its EPA zone (Zone 2) and the 5,046 tests reported to CDC for 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Only a test tells you about one home.

Reno covers 109 square miles of land, all of it in Washoe County. About 283,621 people live there, 2,607 to the square mile.

Reno, Counties

The county Reno lies in

Measured

Washoe County's EPA zone and the figures CDC publishes for it, 2008 to 2017, laboratory.

Washoe CountyZone 2Moderate predicted potential

22.2%
Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
1.9 pCi/L
Median reported result
5,046 tests
Tests reported to CDC
None
Yearly figures on file

Washoe County ranks 7th of 11 Nevada counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 0.6 points below the 22.8% pooled across Nevada's counties, 13.5 points below the national pool of 35.7%.

The counties nearest Reno with a CDC figure for 2008 to 2017, laboratory, measured from the middle of the city: Storey County (18 miles, 17.6% of 34 tests), Carson City (28 miles, 40.6% of 731 tests) and Douglas County (46 miles, 37.0% of 1,617 tests). Across the 8 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 11.1% to 40.6%; the farthest of them, Elko County, is 261 miles away at 40.3%.

No business in the directory gives Reno as its address; the Nevada list covers it. Nevada's other cities with a page of their own: Las Vegas.

The counties around Reno

By distance from the middle of Reno; counties with 30 or more tests.

Nearest counties to Reno with 30 or more tests
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Storey County18 mi3417.6%2.3 pCi/L
Carson City28 mi73140.6%3.3 pCi/L
Douglas County46 mi1,61737.0%3.1 pCi/L
Lyon County51 mi30330.4%2.6 pCi/L
Churchill County81 mi16112.4%2.1 pCi/L
Humboldt County157 mi6532.3%2.3 pCi/L
Nye County210 mi8111.1%1.3 pCi/L
Elko County261 mi15940.3%3.1 pCi/L

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2008 to 2017, laboratory.

Reno, Geology

The ground under Reno

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Reno's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. The map puts 70.0% of Reno in the area it calls Sierra Nevada and 30.0% in Great Basin. USGS gives the first a radon index of 9 and the second 11, both in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Reno
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Sierra NevadaNorthern Sierra Nevada is underlain primarily by Paleozoic and Mesozoic metamorphic rocks. Granitic rocks predominate in the southern Sierrra Nevada , with lesser Mesozoic metamorphic rocks.Moderate970.0%
Great BasinSandstone, shale, limestone, mafic volcanic rocks.Moderate1130.0%

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

Reno beside its county and Nevada

Reno sits on more moderate-potential ground than Washoe County as a whole: 100% of the city against 57.9% of the county. Across Nevada 17.3% of the land is rated high; none of Reno's is.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Reno, the county it lies in and Nevada
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
RenoBy countyNone100%None
Washoe CountyZone 242.1%57.9%None
Nevada17 counties, pooled by land areaVaries7.9%74.8%17.3%

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

Reno, Homes

Homes in Reno

Reno has 120,491 homes, and many share a building: 32% are in buildings of five or more, 50% are detached houses, against 59% across Washoe County. Half of its homes were built before 1989, close to Washoe County's 1990: 12% date from before 1960 and 34% from 2000 or later. Most occupied homes here are rented: owners live in 49% (Washoe County: 59%). A tenant can run a test; a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Reno, Washoe County, Nevada, 2019 to 2023
HomesRenoWashoe CountyNevada
Housing units120,491213,3921,307,338
Detached houses50%59%60%
In buildings of 5 or more32%24%22%
Mobile homes4%6%6%
Built before 196012%9%5%
Built since 200034%33%40%
Middle year built198919901996
Owner-occupied49%59%59%

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

Local help

Reno, Local resources

Local resources for Reno

Who to ask in Nevada: its radon program, test kits and professionals.

The program's own words on licensing are on the Nevada page.

What it means

Reno, Questions

Questions about radon in Reno

What radon zone is Reno in?

EPA's map puts Washoe County, and with it Reno, in Zone 2, the map's middle class: a predicted county average of 2 to 4 pCi/L.

What are radon levels in Reno?

Washoe County's 5,046 tests for 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals) put 22.2% at or above 4 pCi/L: most tests near Reno come back under EPA's action level, but not all. The median reported result was 1.9 pCi/L.

Should I test my home in Reno?

Yes. Roughly one reported test in 5 in Washoe County reached 4 pCi/L. That is about what Nevada as a whole reports (22.8%), and ranks Washoe County 7th of the 11 Nevada counties with 30 or more tests. Only a test puts a number on one house. How to test a home.

What ground is Reno built on, as far as radon goes?

70.0% of Reno sits on what USGS's map calls "Sierra Nevada", rated moderate for radon potential, radon index 9; another 30.0% is "Great Basin", in the same class.

Is radon higher in the counties around Reno?

Some are and some are not. Against Washoe County's 22.2%, 5 of the 8 nearest counties with a figure report more and 3 less, from Nye County (11.1%, 210 miles off) to Carson City (40.6%, 28 miles off).

The answers use the published figures of Washoe County, the county Reno lies in.

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