Short-term kit
RA100 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Socorro County, New Mexico
EPA puts Socorro County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 9 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
Highest bordering
20.6%
Lincoln County
- Lincoln
- 20.6%
1 of 6 neighbours have 30+ tests, 2006 to 2015
Nearest county
25.2%
Bernalillo County, 73 miles
- Bernalillo
- 25.2%
- New Mexico
- 30.3%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 1,342 tests, 2006 to 2015
Ground above low
100.0%
7.4 pts above New Mexico
- Socorro
- 100.0%
- New Mexico
- 92.6%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
9
Too few for a share
- Socorro
- 9
- Needed
- 30
2008 to 2017, laboratory
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for Socorro County
Starts at EPA's action level
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.0 pCi/L
At or above 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is at or above 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends fixing a home when the radon level is 4 pCi/L or higher.
The data
Socorro County, At a glance
Socorro County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Socorro County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 77% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Socorro County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 9 reported tests for Socorro County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 0.8 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Socorro County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 9 tests were reported to CDC for Socorro 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).
Socorro County, Compared
Socorro County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Socorro County rests on 9 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 11.1 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 1.5 pCi/L, with a middle value of 0.8 pCi/L.
Lincoln County, the one bordering county with a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals, reported 20.6% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L. Farther out, Bernalillo County (73 miles away) at 25.2%, Doña Ana County (114 miles away) at 16.3% and Sandoval County (116 miles away) at 24.7% have figures too. Pooled across 30 New Mexico counties, 30.3% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 36.3%.
Statewide for the same period, Taos County reported the highest share (71.9%) and Otero County the lowest (10.7%). EPA's 1993 map puts Socorro County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 77% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Socorro County, Geology
The ground under Socorro County
PredictedMost of the ground under Socorro County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 77.0% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 23.0% high. The map puts 44.1% of Socorro County in the area it calls Datil-Mogollon Volcanic Field and 23.0% in Rocky Mountains (southern extension), with 3 smaller areas beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 11, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Datil-Mogollon Volcanic Field | Silicic to intermediate volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks, basin-fill gravel, sand, silt. | Moderate | 11 | 44.1% |
| Rocky Mountains (southern extension) | Sandstone, siltstone, shale, volcanic sediments, and valley-fill alluvium. | High | 12 | 23.0% |
| Basin and Range Sacramento Section | Paleozoic marine limestones and shales. | Moderate | 10 | 17.9% |
| Southern Colorado Plateau | Cretaceous marine sandstone, shale. | Moderate | 10 | 14.1% |
| Basin and Range | Tertiary volcanic and Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. | Moderate | 10 | 0.9% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Socorro County beside the ground around it
On high-potential ground Socorro County is close to New Mexico as a whole: 23.0% of its land against 19.2%. Of the 6 counties that border it, 1 has more high-potential ground, Sierra County the most at 50.4%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Socorro County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Socorro 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
Socorro County, Questions
Questions about radon in Socorro County
Are radon levels high in Socorro County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Socorro County, New Mexico were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 0.8 pCi/L. Lincoln County, the one bordering county with a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals, reported 20.6% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L.
Which counties border Socorro County?
Socorro County borders 6 counties: Valencia County, Torrance County, Sierra County, Lincoln County, Catron County and Cibola County.
Products
Socorro County, Products
Testing a home in Socorro County
No CDC figure names Socorro County; the nearest county with one, Bernalillo County (73 miles away), reported 25.2% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals, the only reading nearby until a test of this home. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Socorro 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
MonitorForensics Detectors
FD-65-RADON rechargeable radon detector with a color screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Socorro County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Socorro County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Cibola CountyEPA zone 2
47.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.5 pCi/L · 17 tests
- Radon levels in Lincoln CountyEPA zone 2
20.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 34 tests
- Radon levels in Valencia CountyEPA zone 2
15.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 26 tests
- Radon levels in Torrance CountyEPA zone 2
10.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.0 pCi/L · 10 tests
- Radon levels in Sierra CountyEPA zone 2
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.4 pCi/L · 7 tests
- Radon levels in Catron CountyEPA zone 2
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.9 pCi/L · 1 test
Socorro County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Socorro County
About 15,838 people live in Socorro County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 713 fewer than in 2020 (−4.3%). Spread over its land, that is 2.4 people to the square mile. Socorro alone is home to 8,261 of them, 52.2% of the total. Together its 2 incorporated places hold 57.1% of those residents; the other 42.9% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 9 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.6 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where New Mexico as a whole comes to 1.8.
From Socorro to Magdalena, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Socorro County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Socorro | 8,261 | −4.8% | 52.2% |
| Magdalena | 776 | −3.8% | 4.9% |
2 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).
Socorro County, Homes
Homes in Socorro County
Mobile homes are 38% of Socorro County's 7,642 homes and detached houses 51%, against 65% across New Mexico. Half of its homes were built before 1980, close to New Mexico's 1984: 25% date from before 1960 and 13% from 2000 or later. 74% 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 | Socorro County | New Mexico |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 7,642 | 949,524 |
| Detached houses | 51% | 65% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 6% | 10% |
| Mobile homes | 38% | 16% |
| Built before 1960 | 25% | 17% |
| Built since 2000 | 13% | 24% |
| Middle year built | 1980 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 74% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.