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
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in San Miguel County, New Mexico
EPA puts San Miguel County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 24 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
40.5%
10.8 pts above NM
- San Miguel
- 40.5%
- New Mexico
- 29.7%
37 tests, 2005 to 2014
Median result
3.5pCi/L
Below action level
- San Miguel
- 3.5 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2005 to 2014
Tests reported
37
10th of 13 by tests
- San Miguel
- 37
- Santa Fe
- 2,314
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2005 to 2014
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in New Mexico
3 of 13
Top quarter
- San Miguel
- 40.5%
- Taos
- 69.2%
By share, of 13 with 30+ tests
Read a result for San Miguel County
Starts at San Miguel County's median, 3.5 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 3.5 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. San Miguel County's median reported result, 2005 to 2014.
The data
San Miguel County, At a glance
San Miguel County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of San Miguel County in
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 83% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for San Miguel County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 24 reported tests for San Miguel County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 3.5 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). San Miguel County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 24 tests were reported to CDC for San Miguel 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).
San Miguel County, Compared
San Miguel County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411In San Miguel County, about 4 in 10 reported tests over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals (15 of 37) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 36.0%, the gap is 4.5 points higher. Across 30 New Mexico counties pooled together, 29.7% of tests reached that level, so San Miguel County runs 10.8 points above its state.
The newest figure, over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, counts only 24 tests (45.8% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 37-test figure.
Santa Fe County, the one bordering county with a figure for the same period, reported 31.9%. By share, San Miguel County is 3rd of 13 New Mexico counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.
Half the tests came in under 3.5 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 25.2 pCi/L. Below the action level, 13 tests (35.1%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 38.8% statewide, and 9 tests (24.3%) fell between 2 and 4, against 31.4% statewide.
Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 40.5% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 83% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
CDC's ten-year totals for San Miguel County went from 37 tests (2005 to 2014) to 24 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 40.5% to 45.8%.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
San Miguel County, Geology
The ground under San Miguel County
PredictedMost of the ground under San Miguel County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 83.1% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 16.9% high. The map puts 70.1% of San Miguel County in the area it calls Great Plains Pecos Valley Section and 16.9% in Rocky Mountains (southern extension), with 2 smaller areas beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 9, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Plains Pecos Valley Section | Triassic sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, Quaternary alluvial and eolian sand and silt. | Moderate | 9 | 70.1% |
| Rocky Mountains (southern extension) | Sandstone, siltstone, shale, volcanic sediments, and valley-fill alluvium. | High | 12 | 16.9% |
| Basin and Range Sacramento Section | Paleozoic marine limestones and shales. | Moderate | 10 | 11.5% |
| Basin and Range | Triassic and Quaternary sedimentary deposits. | Moderate | 9 | 1.2% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
San Miguel County beside the ground around it
On high-potential ground San Miguel County is close to New Mexico as a whole: 16.9% of its land against 19.2%. Of the 6 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Santa Fe County the most at 68.9%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
San Miguel County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in San Miguel 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
San Miguel County, Questions
Questions about radon in San Miguel County
Are radon levels high in San Miguel County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 45.8% of the radon tests reported to CDC for San Miguel County, New Mexico were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 3.5 pCi/L. Of 13 New Mexico counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 2 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 29.7%.
Which counties border San Miguel County?
San Miguel County borders 6 counties: Mora County, Guadalupe County, Harding County, Santa Fe County, Quay County and Torrance County.
Products
San Miguel County, Products
Testing a home in San Miguel County
In San Miguel County, 40.5% of 37 tests reported to CDC over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 29.7% pooled across New Mexico. In Zone 1 the year-round level in San Miguel 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
Monitor
RadonEye RD200 plug-in continuous radon monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Plug-in
- Bluetooth
- Alarm
- Screen, app
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
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
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
San Miguel County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like San Miguel County
Explore
San Miguel County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering San Miguel County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Mora CountyEPA zone 1
66.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.6 pCi/L · 3 tests · 26.2 points above San Miguel County
- Radon levels in Quay CountyEPA zone 2
50.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.8 pCi/L · 4 tests · 9.5 points above San Miguel County
- Radon levels in Santa Fe CountyEPA zone 1
31.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.8 pCi/L · 2,314 tests · 8.6 points below San Miguel County
- Radon levels in Torrance CountyEPA zone 2
7.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.8 pCi/L · 13 tests · 32.8 points below San Miguel County
- Radon levels in Harding CountyEPA zone 2
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.3 pCi/L · 1 test · 40.5 points below San Miguel County
- Radon levels in Guadalupe CountyEPA zone 2
No CDC figure for 2005 to 2014; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
San Miguel County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in San Miguel County
About 26,260 people live in San Miguel County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 874 fewer than in 2020 (−3.2%). Spread over its land, that is 5.6 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Las Vegas, has 12,574 residents, 47.9% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 37 tests over 2005 to 2014, or 1.4 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where New Mexico as a whole comes to 2.2.
From Las Vegas to Mosquero, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads San Miguel County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas | 12,574 | −4.6% | 47.9% |
| Pecos | 1,375 | −0.9% | 5.2% |
| Mosqueroextends beyond San Miguel County | 90 | −7.2% | Counted whole |
3 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 San Miguel County is counted whole, so it has no share.
San Miguel County, Homes
Homes in San Miguel County
Of San Miguel County's 14,837 homes, 57% are detached houses, against 65% across New Mexico; 30% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1978, close to New Mexico's 1984: 30% date from before 1960 and 15% from 2000 or later. 73% 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 | San Miguel County | New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 14,837 | 949,524 |
| Detached houses | 57% | 65% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 5% | 10% |
| Mobile homes | 30% | 16% |
| Built before 1960 | 30% | 17% |
| Built since 2000 | 15% | 24% |
| Middle year built | 1978 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 73% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.