Skip to content
RADON411

Locations and reports

Radon in Buffalo, New York

EPA puts Erie County, where Buffalo is, in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 26.3% of its 38 reported radon tests (2023) 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

How to test this homeFind a certified tester

  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    26.3%

    5.7 pts below NY

    Erie
    26.3%
    New York
    32.0%

    Erie, 4th of 6 in NY, 2023

  • Median result

    2.0pCi/L

    Below action level

    Erie
    2.0 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of Erie's tests, 2023

  • Nearest county

    46.7%

    Genesee, 34 miles

    Genesee
    46.7%
    Erie
    26.3%

    150 tests, 2023

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    Erie, where Buffalo is

  • Tests reported

    38

    In Erie

    Erie
    38
    Genesee
    150

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2023

Read a result for Buffalo

Starts at Erie County's median, 2.0 pCi/L

2.0pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 2.0 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. Erie County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Buffalo, What is published

What is published for Buffalo

Information:

Every figure for Buffalo is a county's

Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Buffalo it is Erie County's: its EPA zone (Zone 1) and the 38 tests reported to CDC for 2023. Only a test tells you about one home.

Buffalo covers 40.4 square miles of land, all of it in Erie County. Its 274,613 residents live 6,801 to the square mile.

Buffalo, Counties

The county Buffalo lies in

Measured

Erie County's EPA zone and the figures CDC publishes for it, 2023.

Erie CountyZone 1Highest predicted potential

26.3%
Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
2.0 pCi/L
Median reported result
38 tests
Tests reported to CDC
10
Annual years on file

Erie County ranks 4th of 6 New York counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 5.7 points below the 32.0% pooled across New York's counties, 7.1 points below the national pool of 33.4%.

Measured from the middle of Buffalo, the nearest counties with a CDC figure for 2023 are Genesee County (34 miles, 46.7% of 150 tests), Monroe County (61 miles, 10.0% of 40 tests) and Onondaga County (135 miles, 32.6% of 224 tests). Across the 5 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 10.0% to 54.9%; the farthest of them, Albany County, is 249 miles away at 16.7%.

The directory lists 2 businesses with an address in Buffalo, 2 for testing and 1 for mitigation. New York's other cities with a page of their own: Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester and Ithaca.

The counties around Buffalo

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

Nearest counties to Buffalo with 30 or more tests
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Genesee County34 mi15046.7%3.6 pCi/L
Monroe County61 mi4010.0%1.5 pCi/L
Onondaga County135 mi22432.6%2.5 pCi/L
Cortland County143 mi12254.9%4.6 pCi/L
Albany County249 mi6616.7%1.2 pCi/L

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2023.

Buffalo, Geology

The ground under Buffalo

Predicted

USGS's geologic map splits Buffalo: 68.0% of its land is high radon potential and 28.2% moderate. The map puts 68.0% of Buffalo in the area it calls Allegheny Plateau and 28.2% in Erie-Ontario Lowland. USGS gives the first a radon index of 12, in the high band (12 to 17), and the second 9, in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Buffalo
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Allegheny PlateauShale, limestone, and sandstone.High1268.0%
Erie-Ontario LowlandLimestone, dolomite, shale, sandstone, and salt deposits.Moderate928.2%

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

Buffalo beside its county and New York

Erie County as a whole has more high-potential ground than Buffalo: 81.2% of the county against 68.0% of the city. Buffalo has more high-potential ground than New York as a whole: 68.0% of its land against 48.9%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Buffalo, the county it lies in and New York
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
BuffaloBy countyNone28.2%68.0%
Erie CountyZone 1None15.2%81.2%
New York62 counties, pooled by land areaVaries22.0%28.2%48.9%

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

Buffalo, Homes

Homes in Buffalo

Fewer than six in ten of Buffalo's 136,533 homes are detached houses (36%, against 59% across Erie County); the rest are attached, in shared buildings or mobile. More than half of its homes were built before 1940, where the middle year for Erie County is 1957; 4% have gone up since 2000. Most occupied homes here are rented: owners live in 43% (Erie County: 65%). A tenant can run a test; a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Buffalo, Erie County, New York, 2019 to 2023
HomesBuffaloErie CountyNew York
Housing units136,533439,9878,539,536
Detached houses36%59%41%
In buildings of 5 or more17%13%34%
Mobile homesunder 1%2%2%
Built before 196081%56%53%
Built since 20004%9%12%
Middle year built1939 or earlier19571958
Owner-occupied43%65%54%

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

Local help

Buffalo, Professionals

Radon professionals listed in Buffalo

Businesses whose listed city is Buffalo, from the state registries and listings in the Radon411 directory, with the same business and certification status the directory shows.

2 listings with Buffalo as the city. See radon mitigation and testing in Buffalo, or all radon professionals in New York.

Buffalo, Local resources

Local resources for Buffalo

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

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

What it means

Buffalo, Questions

Questions about radon in Buffalo

What radon zone is Buffalo in?

EPA's map puts Erie County, and with it Buffalo, in Zone 1, the map's highest class: a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L.

What are radon levels in Buffalo?

Around Buffalo, 26.3% of 38 tests reported from Erie County for 2023 reached 4 pCi/L or more, so a high result is no surprise here. The median reported result was 2.0 pCi/L.

Should I test my home in Buffalo?

Yes. Erie County reported about 10 of its 38 tests at or above 4 pCi/L. That is below New York's pooled 32.0%, and still not a reason to skip it, and ranks Erie County 4th of the 6 New York counties with 30 or more tests. Which homes they were, no map can say. How to test a home.

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

68.0% of Buffalo sits on what USGS's map calls "Allegheny Plateau", rated high for radon potential, radon index 12; another 28.2% is "Erie-Ontario Lowland", rated moderate for radon potential, radon index 9. So the ground changes within Buffalo itself.

Is radon higher in the counties around Buffalo?

It depends which way you go. 3 of the 5 nearest counties with a figure report a larger share than Erie County's 26.3% and 2 a smaller one: from Monroe County (10.0%, 61 miles off) to Cortland County (54.9%, 143 miles off).

Who tests for or fixes radon in Buffalo?

Buffalo is the address of 2 businesses in Radon411's directory, 2 listed for testing and 1 for mitigation. Each entry names the public list it came from. Radon professionals in Buffalo.

The answers use the published figures of Erie County, the county Buffalo lies in.

Explore