Short-term kit
Radon Short Term Test Kit short-term charcoal radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 2 to 7 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Los Alamos County, New Mexico
EPA puts Los Alamos County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 38.5% of its 78 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
Share at 4+ pCi/L
38.5%
10.0 pts above NM
- Los Alamos
- 38.5%
- New Mexico
- 28.5%
78 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
3.0pCi/L
Below action level
- Los Alamos
- 3.0 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
78
7th of 8 by tests
- Los Alamos
- 78
- Santa Fe
- 1,819
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in New Mexico
2 of 8
Top quarter
- Los Alamos
- 38.5%
- Taos
- 77.1%
By share, of 8 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Los Alamos County
Starts at Los Alamos County's median, 3.0 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 3.0 pCi/L
Between 2 and 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 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. Los Alamos County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Los Alamos County, At a glance
Los Alamos County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Los Alamos County is a
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 Los Alamos County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 27%2 to 4 pCi/L: 35%4 pCi/L and above: 38%
Of 78 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 21 | 26.9% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 27 | 34.6% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 30 | 38.5% |
What these figures count
These are the 78 tests reported to CDC for Los Alamos County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), 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: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Los Alamos County, Compared
Los Alamos County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411In Los Alamos County, about 4 in 10 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals (30 of 78) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 35.7%, the gap is 2.8 points higher. Across 29 New Mexico counties pooled together, 28.5% of tests reached that level, so Los Alamos County runs 10.0 points above its state.
Of 2 neighbours with a figure, none reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L; the spread is 21.4% (Sandoval County) to 31.2% (Santa Fe County). By share, Los Alamos County is 2nd of 8 New Mexico counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.
Half the tests came in under 3.0 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 40.9 pCi/L. Below the action level, 21 tests (26.9%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 41.3% statewide, and 27 tests (34.6%) fell between 2 and 4, against 30.2% statewide.
Zone 2 on EPA's map (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L) and a 38.5% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land high radon potential.
CDC's ten-year totals for Los Alamos County went from 92 tests (2005 to 2014) to 78 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 25.0% to 38.5%.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Los Alamos County, Geology
The ground under Los Alamos County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Los Alamos County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Jemez Mountains, to which USGS gives a radon index of 12, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jemez Mountains | Tertiary volcanic basalt, andesite, dacite, rhyolite, and rhyolitic tuff. | High | 12 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Los Alamos County beside the ground around it
Los Alamos County has more high-potential ground than New Mexico as a whole: 100% of its land against 19.2%. Of the 3 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Santa Fe County comes nearest at 68.9%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Los Alamos County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Los Alamos County
- New Mexico Indoor Radon Outreach ProgramNew Mexico Indoor Radon Outreach Program, run by New Mexico Environment Department, does not license radon professionals and offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in New Mexico.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
The New Mexico Environment Department seasonally distributes free radon testing kits to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Compare kits
- See the New Mexico directoryNo professionals are listed in New Mexico yet. The state program can point you to registered testers and mitigators.
What New Mexico's program says
- Phone
- (505) 476-8600
- radon.questions@env.nm.gov
- Licensing of radon professionals
There is not currently a certification program within the state.
What it means
Los Alamos County, Questions
Questions about radon in Los Alamos County
Are radon levels high in Los Alamos County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 38.5% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Los Alamos County, New Mexico were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 3.0 pCi/L. Of 8 New Mexico counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 1 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 28.5%.
Which counties border Los Alamos County?
Los Alamos County borders 3 counties: Santa Fe County, Sandoval County and Rio Arriba County.
Products
Los Alamos County, Products
Testing a home in Los Alamos County
In Los Alamos County, 38.5% of 78 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 28.5% pooled across New Mexico. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Los Alamos County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
MonitorINKBIRD
INK-RD3 battery radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Screen
First reading: Within 24 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Los Alamos County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Los Alamos County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Rio Arriba CountyEPA zone 1
50.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.5 pCi/L · 14 tests · 11.5 points above Los Alamos County
- Radon levels in Santa Fe CountyEPA zone 1
31.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.7 pCi/L · 1,819 tests · 7.3 points below Los Alamos County
- Radon levels in Sandoval CountyEPA zone 2
21.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 140 tests · 17.1 points below Los Alamos County
Los Alamos County, Residents
Who lives in Los Alamos County
Los Alamos County's population has barely moved since 2020: 19,407 residents on July 1, 2025 against 19,414 then, by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 178 people per square mile of land. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 78 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 come to 4.0 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 1.8 for New Mexico.
Census lists no incorporated place in Los Alamos County: every home in it reads the county's figures.
Residents: U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for July 1, 2025 (Vintage 2025).
Los Alamos County, Homes
Homes in Los Alamos County
Of Los Alamos County's 8,660 homes, 63% are detached houses, against 65% across New Mexico; 15% are in buildings of five or more homes. The homes are older than New Mexico's as a whole: half were built before 1974 (1984 for New Mexico), and 25% date from before 1960. 75% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (New Mexico: 69%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Los Alamos County | New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 8,660 | 949,524 |
| Detached houses | 63% | 65% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 15% | 10% |
| Mobile homes | 6% | 16% |
| Built before 1960 | 25% | 17% |
| Built since 2000 | 18% | 24% |
| Middle year built | 1974 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 75% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.