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 Chemung County, New York
EPA puts Chemung County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 7 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2023). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
52.3%
27.8 pts above NY
- Chemung
- 52.3%
- New York
- 24.5%
1,537 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
4.3pCi/L
Action level reached
- Chemung
- 4.3 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
1,537
18th of 61 by tests
- Chemung
- 1,537
- Erie
- 13,822
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
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 York
1 of 61
Top quarter
- Chemung
- 52.3%
- Chemung
- 52.3%
By share, of 61 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Chemung County
Starts at Chemung County's median, 4.3 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.3 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. Chemung County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Chemung County, At a glance
Chemung County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Chemung County in
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 Chemung County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 24.0% |
| 2015 | 60.5% |
| 2016 | 50.0% |
| 2017 | 50.0% |
| 2018 | 60.0% |
| 2019 | 52.9% |
| 2020 | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 66.7% |
| 2022 | 2.8% |
| 2023 | 100.0% |
2023: 100.0%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 100.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 7 tests were reported to CDC for Chemung County over 2023, 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: 2023. Measured data period: 2005 to 2023 (every CDC figure on file).
Chemung County, Compared
Chemung County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 52.3% of the 1,537 radon tests reported to CDC for Chemung County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 1st of 61 New York counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 27.8 points above the 24.5% pooled from 62 New York counties.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 7 tests (100.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 1,537-test figure.
The median result, 4.3 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 89.2 pCi/L. The rest split 29.0% under 2 pCi/L and 18.7% from 2 to 4 (New York: 51.7% and 23.7%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 52.3% share point the same way here.
No bordering county with a figure for the same period reported a higher share; the closest is Bradford County, PA at 49.0%, the lowest Tompkins County at 28.0%. Statewide for the same period, Cortland County reported the highest share (51.0%) and Bronx County the lowest (3.2%).
The busiest year on file was 2022, with 216 tests reported; the quietest, 2021, had 3.
Over 3 years of annual figures the share fell 21.2 points, from 24.0% in 2014 to 2.8% in 2022; its peak was 60.5% in 2015. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Chemung County sits 16.6 points above it. CDC also counts 103 tests taken after mitigation in Chemung County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
Chemung CountyNew York, pooled
2.8% % of tests22.4% % of tests
| Year | Tests | Chemung County, at or above 4 pCi/L | New York, pooled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 104 | 24.0% | 16.6% |
| 2015 | 38 | 60.5% | 21.4% |
| 2022 | 216 | 2.8% | 22.4% |
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Chemung County, State data
New York's own radon test data
MeasuredWhat New York's own agencies publish about radon tests in Chemung County, with their period. These are not CDC's figures and are never added to them.
MeasuredState figures, not CDC's
What the New York State Department of Health reports for Chemung County
Indoor air radon testing data (Environmental Public Health Tracker): short-term charcoal canister tests requested through the NYSDOH Radon Program, presented as five-year rolling averages. Period: 2015-2019. The publisher also lists 15 earlier periods.
Share at or above 4 pCi/L
54.5%
Average result
11.2 pCi/L
Tests behind these figures
22 tests a year on average
- Every figure is a five-year rolling average: the average result is the rolling average of each year's mean, and the test count is an average per year.
- The data only include tests requested through the NYSDOH Radon Program, and therefore may not capture all radon tests performed in a county.
- The data include both screening tests and post-mitigation tests, as it is not always possible to tell them apart.
- Radon testing by homeowners is optional in New York, so the values may not be representative of every home in the county.
- These figures describe tests reported to the New York State Department of Health in this area. They count a different set of tests than CDC's figures and are not a reading of any one home.
Measured: New York State Department of Health data, 2015-2019.
Chemung County, Geology
The ground under Chemung County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Chemung County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Allegheny Plateau, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegheny Plateau | Shale, limestone, and sandstone. | High | 12 | 99.7% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Chemung County beside the ground around it
Chemung County has more high-potential ground than New York as a whole: 100% of its land against 48.9%. Of the 6 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Bradford County, PA comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Chemung County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Chemung County
Listed radon businesses with an address in Chemung County:
- Radon ProgramRadon Program, run by New York State Department of Health, does not license radon professionals and offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in New York.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Providing patients with information about how low-cost test kits may be obtained from the Radon Program.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in New York88 professionals are listed in New York.
Listed radon professionals by town: Horseheads
What New York's program says
- Phone
- 518-402-7556
- radon@health.ny.gov
- Licensing of radon professionals
NYS does not certify or license radon testers.
What it means
Chemung County, Questions
Questions about radon in Chemung County
Are radon levels high in Chemung County?
In 2023, 100.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Chemung County, New York were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 13.1 pCi/L. Of 61 New York counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, none reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 24.5%.
Which counties border Chemung County?
Chemung County borders 6 counties: Schuyler County, NY, Tioga County, NY, Bradford County, PA, Tompkins County, NY, Tioga County, PA and Steuben County, NY.
Products
Chemung County, Products
Testing a home in Chemung County
In Chemung County, 52.3% of 1,537 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 24.5% pooled across New York. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Chemung 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
MonitorAEGTEST
HOUND-1085 palm-sized rechargeable radon detector
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
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
Chemung County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Chemung County
Explore
Chemung County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Chemung County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Bradford County, PAEPA zone 1
49.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.8 pCi/L · 500 tests · 3.3 points below Chemung County
- Radon levels in Steuben County, NYEPA zone 1
45.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.4 pCi/L · 1,080 tests · 7.0 points below Chemung County
- Radon levels in Tioga County, PAEPA zone 1
40.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.0 pCi/L · 305 tests · 12.0 points below Chemung County
- Radon levels in Tioga County, NYEPA zone 1
38.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.7 pCi/L · 1,419 tests · 13.4 points below Chemung County
- Radon levels in Schuyler County, NYEPA zone 1
38.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.5 pCi/L · 236 tests · 13.7 points below Chemung County
- Radon levels in Tompkins County, NYEPA zone 1
28.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.3 pCi/L · 3,372 tests · 24.3 points below Chemung County
Chemung County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Chemung County
About 80,415 people live in Chemung County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 3,237 fewer than in 2020 (−3.9%). That works out to 197 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Elmira, has 26,089 residents, 32.4% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 45.8% of those residents; the other 54.2% live outside any of them. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 1,537 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 come to 19.1 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 4.9 for New York.
From Elmira to Millport, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Chemung County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elmira | 26,089 | −0.8% | 32.4% |
| Horseheads | 6,275 | −4.8% | 7.8% |
| Elmira Heights | 3,716 | −5.4% | 4.6% |
| Wellsburg | 457 | −4.8% | 0.6% |
| Millport | 274 | −5.2% | 0.3% |
5 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).
Chemung County, Homes
Homes in Chemung County
Of Chemung County's 39,143 homes, 68% are detached houses, against 41% across New York; 10% are in buildings of five or more homes. Half of its homes were built before 1955, close to New York's 1958: 57% date from before 1960 and 8% from 2000 or later. 70% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (New York: 54%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Chemung County | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 39,143 | 8,539,536 |
| Detached houses | 68% | 41% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 10% | 34% |
| Mobile homes | 5% | 2% |
| Built before 1960 | 57% | 53% |
| Built since 2000 | 8% | 12% |
| Middle year built | 1955 | 1958 |
| Owner-occupied | 70% | 54% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.