Short-term kit
PicoCan short-term charcoal canister radon test
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in McKinley County, New Mexico
EPA puts McKinley County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 22 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
46.7%
17.0 pts above NM
- McKinley
- 46.7%
- New Mexico
- 29.7%
45 tests, 2005 to 2014
Median result
3.1pCi/L
Below action level
- McKinley
- 3.1 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2005 to 2014
Tests reported
45
9th of 13 by tests
- McKinley
- 45
- Santa Fe
- 2,314
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2005 to 2014
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 13
Top quarter
- McKinley
- 46.7%
- Taos
- 69.2%
By share, of 13 with 30+ tests
Read a result for McKinley County
Starts at McKinley County's median, 3.1 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 3.1 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. McKinley County's median reported result, 2005 to 2014.
The data
McKinley County, At a glance
McKinley County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
McKinley County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 67% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for McKinley County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 22 reported tests for McKinley County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 2.2 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). McKinley County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 22 tests were reported to CDC for McKinley County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), 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: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
McKinley County, Compared
McKinley County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411In McKinley County, about 5 in 10 reported tests over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals (21 of 45) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 36.0%, the gap is 10.7 points higher. Across 30 New Mexico counties pooled together, 29.7% of tests reached that level, so McKinley County runs 17.0 points above its state.
The newest figure, over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, counts only 22 tests (27.3% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 45-test figure.
Of 2 neighbours with a figure, none reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L; the spread is 23.2% (Sandoval County) to 33.9% (San Juan County). By share, McKinley County is 2nd of 13 New Mexico counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.
Half the tests came in under 3.1 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 21.8 pCi/L. Below the action level, 12 tests (26.7%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 38.8% statewide, and 12 tests (26.7%) fell between 2 and 4, against 31.4% statewide.
Zone 2 on EPA's map (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L) and a 46.7% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 67% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
CDC's ten-year totals for McKinley County went from 45 tests (2005 to 2014) to 22 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 46.7% to 27.3%.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
McKinley County, Geology
The ground under McKinley County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map splits McKinley County: 67.3% of its land is moderate radon potential and 32.7% high. The map puts 50.4% of McKinley County in the area it calls San Juan Basin and 32.7% in Grants Uranium Belt, with 2 smaller areas beside them. 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).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Juan Basin | Mesozoic marine and non-marine sedimentary rocks including sandstone, siltstone, shale, minor limestone. | Moderate | 10 | 50.4% |
| Grants Uranium Belt | Upper Creataceous marine shales and uranium-bearing Jurassic fluvial sandstones of the Grants uranium belt. | High | 12 | 32.7% |
| Southern Colorado Plateau | Cretaceous marine sandstone, shale. | Moderate | 10 | 10.0% |
| Colorado Plateau | Jurassic-Triassic nonmarine sandstones and shales. | Moderate | 11 | 7.0% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
McKinley County beside the ground around it
McKinley County has more high-potential ground than New Mexico as a whole: 32.7% of its land against 19.2%. Of the 4 counties that border it, 1 has more high-potential ground, Sandoval County the most at 46.8%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
McKinley County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in McKinley 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
McKinley County, Questions
Questions about radon in McKinley County
Are radon levels high in McKinley County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 27.3% of the radon tests reported to CDC for McKinley County, New Mexico were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.2 pCi/L. Of 13 New Mexico counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 1 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 29.7%.
Which counties border McKinley County?
McKinley County borders 4 counties: Cibola County, NM, San Juan County, NM, Apache County, AZ and Sandoval County, NM.
Products
McKinley County, Products
Testing a home in McKinley County
In McKinley County, 46.7% of 45 tests reported to CDC over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 29.7% pooled across New Mexico. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in McKinley County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL416 long-term radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
MonitorAranet
Radon Plus battery digital radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- Alarm
- Screen, app
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
McKinley County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering McKinley County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Cibola County, NMEPA zone 2
40.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.5 pCi/L · 20 tests · 6.7 points below McKinley County
- Radon levels in San Juan County, NMEPA zone 2
33.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.2 pCi/L · 59 tests · 12.8 points below McKinley County
- Radon levels in Sandoval County, NMEPA zone 2
23.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.0 pCi/L · 168 tests · 23.5 points below McKinley County
- Radon levels in Apache County, AZEPA zone 2
No CDC figure for 2005 to 2014; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
McKinley County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in McKinley County
McKinley County has been losing residents: from 72,540 in 2020 to 68,119 on July 1, 2025, a fall of 6.1% by the Census Bureau's estimates. That works out to 12 people per square mile of land. Gallup, its one incorporated place, has 19,969 residents, 29.3% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 45 tests over 2005 to 2014, or 0.7 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where New Mexico as a whole comes to 2.2.
Gallup is the one incorporated place here; CDC publishes no figure by town, so it reads McKinley County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gallup | 19,969 | −8.4% | 29.3% |
One incorporated place, 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).
McKinley County, Homes
Homes in McKinley County
Of McKinley County's 25,213 homes, 64% are detached houses, against 65% across New Mexico; 24% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1983, close to New Mexico's 1984: 13% date from before 1960 and 20% from 2000 or later. 69% 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 | McKinley County | New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 25,213 | 949,524 |
| Detached houses | 64% | 65% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 3% | 10% |
| Mobile homes | 24% | 16% |
| Built before 1960 | 13% | 17% |
| Built since 2000 | 20% | 24% |
| Middle year built | 1983 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 69% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.