Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Orleans County, New York
EPA puts Orleans County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 4 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
24.5%
0.0 pts above NY
- Orleans
- 24.5%
- New York
- 24.5%
143 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
2.0pCi/L
Below action level
- Orleans
- 2.0 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
143
56th of 61 by tests
- Orleans
- 143
- Erie
- 13,822
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in New York
33 of 61
Middle half
- Orleans
- 24.5%
- Chemung
- 52.3%
By share, of 61 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Orleans County
Starts at Orleans County's median, 2.0 pCi/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
- 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. Orleans County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Orleans County, At a glance
Orleans County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Orleans County is a
USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Orleans County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 50.0% |
| 2015 | 0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.0% |
| 2018 | 33.3% |
| 2019 | 0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.0% |
| 2021 | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 25.0% |
2023: 25.0%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 50.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 4 tests were reported to CDC for Orleans 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).
Orleans County, Compared
Orleans County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Orleans County's 143 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 2.0 pCi/L and a maximum of 61.3 pCi/L, and 24.5% reached 4 pCi/L. Pooled across 62 New York counties, the share is the same 24.5%.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 4 tests (25.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 143-test figure.
Among its state's counties it ranks 33rd 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 (52.3%) and Bronx County the lowest (3.2%).
Below the action level, 70 tests (49.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 51.7% statewide, and 38 tests (26.6%) fell between 2 and 4, against 23.7% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2015, with 5 tests reported; the quietest, 2020, had 1.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Orleans County in Zone 2, a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Next door, the shares run from 14.3% in Niagara County to 34.7% in Genesee County, with Monroe County and Niagara County below Orleans County.
CDC also counts 7 tests taken after mitigation in Orleans County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Orleans County, State data
New York's own radon test data
MeasuredWhat New York's own agencies publish about radon tests in Orleans 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 Orleans 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
6.9%
Average result
1.6 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.
Orleans County, Geology
The ground under Orleans County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Orleans County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Erie-Ontario Lowland, to which USGS gives a radon index of 9, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie-Ontario Lowland | Limestone, dolomite, shale, sandstone, and salt deposits. | Moderate | 9 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Orleans County beside the ground around it
Across New York 48.9% of the land is rated high; none of Orleans County's is. Of the 3 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Genesee County the most at 60.3%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Orleans County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Orleans 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
Orleans County, Questions
Questions about radon in Orleans County
Are radon levels high in Orleans County?
In 2023, 25.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Orleans County, New York were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.8 pCi/L. Of 61 New York counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 32 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 24.5%.
Which counties border Orleans County?
Orleans County borders 3 counties: Genesee County, Niagara County and Monroe County.
Products
Orleans County, Products
Testing a home in Orleans County
In Orleans County, 24.5% of 143 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 24.5% pooled across New York. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Orleans County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
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
Monitor
View Radon Wi-Fi radon monitor with an e-paper display
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Battery
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Screen, app
Method: Alpha spectrometry
Readings: Every 60 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Orleans County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Orleans County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Genesee CountyEPA zone 1
34.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.6 pCi/L · 317 tests · 10.2 points above Orleans County
- Radon levels in Monroe CountyEPA zone 2
15.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.8 pCi/L · 7,113 tests · 9.4 points below Orleans County
- Radon levels in Niagara CountyEPA zone 2
14.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.6 pCi/L · 2,016 tests · 10.2 points below Orleans County
Orleans County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Orleans County
About 39,825 people live in Orleans County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 222 fewer than in 2020 (−0.6%). That works out to 102 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Medina, the largest, has 5,855 residents, 14.7% of the total. Together its 4 incorporated places hold 35.6% of those residents; the other 64.4% live outside any of them. CDC's 143 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 work out to 3.6 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to New York's 4.9.
From Medina to Lyndonville, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Orleans County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medina | 5,855 | −2.4% | 14.7% |
| Albion | 5,843 | +3.3% | 14.7% |
| Holley | 1,726 | −2.2% | 4.3% |
| Lyndonville | 771 | −1.9% | 1.9% |
4 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).
Orleans County, Homes
Homes in Orleans County
Of Orleans County's 18,275 homes, 73% are detached houses, against 41% across New York; 10% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1954, close to New York's 1958: 55% date from before 1960 and 8% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 77% of the occupied homes (New York: 54%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Orleans County | New York |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 18,275 | 8,539,536 |
| Detached houses | 73% | 41% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 5% | 34% |
| Mobile homes | 10% | 2% |
| Built before 1960 | 55% | 53% |
| Built since 2000 | 8% | 12% |
| Middle year built | 1954 | 1958 |
| Owner-occupied | 77% | 54% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.