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 Franklin County, New York
EPA puts Franklin County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 1 radon test from it is 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
25.7%
0.5 pts above NY
- Franklin
- 25.7%
- New York
- 25.2%
35 tests, 2006 to 2015
Median result
1.5pCi/L
Below action level
- Franklin
- 1.5 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2006 to 2015
Tests reported
35
61st of 61 by tests
- Franklin
- 35
- Erie
- 11,939
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2006 to 2015
EPA radon zone
Zone 3
Lower potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors
Rank in New York
30 of 61
Middle half
- Franklin
- 25.7%
- Chemung
- 52.6%
By share, of 61 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Franklin County
Starts at Franklin County's median, 1.5 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.5 pCi/L
Below 2 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Franklin County's median reported result, 2006 to 2015.
The data
Franklin County, At a glance
Franklin County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Low across 75% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Franklin County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 66.7% |
| 2017 | 80.0% |
| 2018 | 0.0% |
| 2019 | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.0% |
2023: 0.0%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 80.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 1 test was reported to CDC for Franklin 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).
Franklin County, Compared
Franklin County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Franklin County's 35 reported tests over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals had a middle value of 1.5 pCi/L and a maximum of 38.8 pCi/L, and 25.7% reached 4 pCi/L. New York as a whole (62 New York counties, pooled) comes to 25.2%: 0.5 points lower than here.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 1 test (0.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 35-test figure.
Among its state's counties it ranks 30th of 61 New York counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Chemung County reported the highest share (52.6%) and Bronx County the lowest (2.3%).
Below the action level, 21 tests (60.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 51.5% statewide, and 5 tests (14.3%) fell between 2 and 4, against 23.3% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2017, with 15 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 1.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Franklin County in Zone 3, a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 75% of the county's land low radon potential.
Next door, the shares run from 6.6% in Clinton County to 12.1% in St. Lawrence County, with St. Lawrence County, Essex County and Clinton County below Franklin County.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Franklin County, State data
New York's own radon test data
MeasuredWhat New York's own agencies publish about radon tests in Franklin 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 Franklin 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
13.9%
Average result
1.4 pCi/L
Tests behind these figures
3.6 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.
Franklin County, Geology
The ground under Franklin County
PredictedMost of the ground under Franklin County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 75.4% of its land is low radon potential, with 24.4% moderate. The map puts 54.8% of Franklin County in the area it calls Adirondacks and 24.4% in St. Lawrence Champlain-Lowlands, with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 8, in the low band (5 to 8), and the second 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adirondacks | Anorthosite and charnockitic gneisses. | Low | 8 | 54.8% |
| St. Lawrence Champlain-Lowlands | Cambrian-Ordovician sedimentary rocks (conglomerates and sandstones). | Moderate | 10 | 24.4% |
| High Peaks | Anorthosite and charnockitic gneisses. | Low | 8 | 20.6% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Franklin County beside the ground around it
Across New York 48.9% of the land is rated high; none of Franklin County's is. Of the 4 counties that border it, 2 have more moderate-potential ground, Clinton County the most at 64.9%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Franklin County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Franklin 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.
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
Franklin County, Questions
Questions about radon in Franklin County
Are radon levels high in Franklin County?
In 2023, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Franklin County, New York were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 0.3 pCi/L. Of 61 New York counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 29 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 25.2%.
Which counties border Franklin County?
Franklin County borders 4 counties: Clinton County, Essex County, St. Lawrence County and Hamilton County.
Products
Franklin County, Products
Testing a home in Franklin County
In Franklin County, 25.7% of 35 tests reported to CDC over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 25.2% pooled across New York. Zone 3 is the lowest label, yet homes at or above 4 pCi/L occur in every zone: a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Franklin County.
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
Monitor
lüft plug-in radon and indoor air quality monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Plug-in
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- App only
First reading: Within 90 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Franklin County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Franklin County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Hamilton CountyEPA zone 3
27.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 11 tests · 1.6 points above Franklin County
- Radon levels in St. Lawrence CountyEPA zone 2
12.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.2 pCi/L · 132 tests · 13.6 points below Franklin County
- Radon levels in Essex CountyEPA zone 3
8.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.2 pCi/L · 110 tests · 17.5 points below Franklin County
- Radon levels in Clinton CountyEPA zone 2
6.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.4 pCi/L · 91 tests · 19.1 points below Franklin County
Franklin County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Franklin County
About 46,500 people live in Franklin County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 752 fewer than in 2020 (−1.6%). That works out to 29 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Malone, the largest, has 5,315 residents, 11.4% of the total. Reported testing is thin here: 35 tests over 2006 to 2015, or 0.8 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where New York as a whole comes to 4.3.
From Malone to Burke, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Franklin County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malone | 5,315 | −3.2% | 11.4% |
| Saranac Lakeextends beyond Franklin County | 4,793 | −3.1% | Counted whole |
| Tupper Lake | 3,288 | −2.6% | 7.1% |
| Chateaugay | 741 | −0.8% | 1.6% |
| Brushton | 429 | −2.1% | 0.9% |
| Burke | 164 | −1.8% | 0.4% |
6 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 Franklin County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Franklin County, Homes
Homes in Franklin County
Of Franklin County's 25,442 homes, 70% are detached houses, against 41% across New York; 12% are mobile homes. Much of Franklin County is recent building: 13% of its homes have gone up since 2000 and the middle year built is 1966, against 1958 for New York. 71% 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 | Franklin County | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 25,442 | 8,539,536 |
| Detached houses | 70% | 41% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 8% | 34% |
| Mobile homes | 12% | 2% |
| Built before 1960 | 46% | 53% |
| Built since 2000 | 13% | 12% |
| Middle year built | 1966 | 1958 |
| Owner-occupied | 71% | 54% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.