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Radon in Albuquerque, New Mexico

EPA puts Bernalillo County, where Albuquerque is, in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 24.3% of its 1,052 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

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  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    24.3%

    4.2 pts below NM

    Bernalillo
    24.3%
    New Mexico
    28.5%

    Bernalillo, 5th of 8 in NM, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    2.1pCi/L

    Below action level

    Bernalillo
    2.1 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of Bernalillo's tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Nearest county

    21.4%

    Sandoval, 42 miles

    Sandoval
    21.4%
    Bernalillo
    24.3%

    140 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    Bernalillo, where Albuquerque is

  • Tests reported

    1,052

    In Bernalillo

    Bernalillo
    1,052
    Sandoval
    140

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

Read a result for Albuquerque

Starts at Bernalillo County's median, 2.1 pCi/L

2.1pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 2.1 pCi/L

Between 2 and 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 between 2 and 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Bernalillo County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Albuquerque, What is published

What is published for Albuquerque

Information:

Every figure for Albuquerque is a county's

Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Albuquerque it is Bernalillo County's: its EPA zone (Zone 1) and the 1,052 tests reported to CDC for 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Only a test tells you about one home.

Albuquerque covers 187 square miles of land, all of it in Bernalillo County. About 556,588 people live there, 2,972 to the square mile.

Albuquerque, Counties

The county Albuquerque lies in

Measured

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

Bernalillo CountyZone 1Highest predicted potential

24.3%
Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
2.1 pCi/L
Median reported result
1,052 tests
Tests reported to CDC
None
Yearly figures on file

Bernalillo County ranks 5th of 8 New Mexico counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 4.2 points below the 28.5% pooled across New Mexico's counties, 11.4 points below the national pool of 35.7%.

Measured from the middle of Albuquerque, the nearest counties with a CDC figure for 2008 to 2017, laboratory are Sandoval County (42 miles, 21.4% of 140 tests), Santa Fe County (47 miles, 31.2% of 1,819 tests) and Los Alamos County (56 miles, 38.5% of 78 tests). Across the 7 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 3.7% to 77.1%; the farthest of them, Curry County, is 191 miles away at 3.7%.

No business in the directory gives Albuquerque as its address; the New Mexico list covers it.

The counties around Albuquerque

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

Nearest counties to Albuquerque with 30 or more tests
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Sandoval County42 mi14021.4%1.5 pCi/L
Santa Fe County47 mi1,81931.2%2.7 pCi/L
Los Alamos County56 mi7838.5%3.0 pCi/L
Taos County116 mi8377.1%8.5 pCi/L
San Juan County135 mi5633.9%2.4 pCi/L
Doña Ana County190 mi10412.5%1.3 pCi/L
Curry County191 mi1353.7%0.6 pCi/L

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

Albuquerque, Geology

The ground under Albuquerque

Predicted

Most of the ground under Albuquerque is one class on USGS's geologic map: 94.8% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 5.2% high. The map puts 94.8% of Albuquerque in the area it calls Southern Colorado Plateau and 5.2% in Rocky Mountains (southern extension). USGS gives the first a radon index of 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11), and the second 12, in the high band (12 to 17).

USGS's geologic areas under Albuquerque
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Southern Colorado PlateauCretaceous marine sandstone, shale.Moderate1094.8%
Rocky Mountains (southern extension)Sandstone, siltstone, shale, volcanic sediments, and valley-fill alluvium.High125.2%

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

Albuquerque beside its county and New Mexico

Bernalillo County as a whole has more high-potential ground than Albuquerque: 32.3% of the county against 5.2% of the city. New Mexico as a whole has more high-potential ground than Albuquerque: 19.2% of its land, against 5.2% here.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Albuquerque, the county it lies in and New Mexico
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
AlbuquerqueBy countyNone94.8%5.2%
Bernalillo CountyZone 1None67.7%32.3%
New Mexico33 counties, pooled by land areaVaries7.4%73.4%19.2%

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

Albuquerque, Homes

Homes in Albuquerque

Of Albuquerque's 256,861 homes, 62% are detached houses, against 64% across Bernalillo County; 21% are in buildings of five or more homes. Half of its homes were built before 1982, close to Bernalillo County's 1982: 19% date from before 1960 and 24% from 2000 or later. 62% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Bernalillo County: 64%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, New Mexico, 2019 to 2023
HomesAlbuquerqueBernalillo CountyNew Mexico
Housing units256,861301,278949,524
Detached houses62%64%65%
In buildings of 5 or more21%18%10%
Mobile homes4%5%16%
Built before 196019%19%17%
Built since 200024%23%24%
Middle year built198219821984
Owner-occupied62%64%69%

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

Local help

Albuquerque, Local resources

Local resources for Albuquerque

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

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

What it means

Albuquerque, Questions

Questions about radon in Albuquerque

What radon zone is Albuquerque in?

Albuquerque has no zone of its own: it shares Bernalillo County's, Zone 1, the map's highest class: a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L.

What are radon levels in Albuquerque?

Most tests near Albuquerque come back under EPA's action level, but not all: 24.3% of Bernalillo County's 1,052 tests for 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals) were at or above 4 pCi/L. The median reported result was 2.1 pCi/L.

Should I test my home in Albuquerque?

Yes. In Bernalillo County, about one reported test in 4 reached 4 pCi/L. That is below New Mexico's pooled 28.5%, and still not a reason to skip it, and ranks Bernalillo County 5th of the 8 New Mexico counties with 30 or more tests. The number for one house comes only from testing it. How to test a home.

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

94.8% of Albuquerque sits on what USGS's map calls "Southern Colorado Plateau", rated moderate for radon potential, radon index 10; another 5.2% is "Rocky Mountains (southern extension)", rated high for radon potential, radon index 12. So the ground changes within Albuquerque itself.

Is radon higher in the counties around Albuquerque?

It depends which way you go. 4 of the 7 nearest counties with a figure report a larger share than Bernalillo County's 24.3% and 3 a smaller one: from Curry County (3.7%, 191 miles off) to Taos County (77.1%, 116 miles off).

The answers use the published figures of Bernalillo County, the county Albuquerque lies in.

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