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Radon in Rochester, New York

EPA puts Monroe County, where Rochester is, in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and most reported tests there come back low, though 10.0% of 40 (2023) reached 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

    10.0%

    22.0 pts below NY

    Monroe
    10.0%
    New York
    32.0%

    Monroe, 6th of 6 in NY, 2023

  • Median result

    1.5pCi/L

    Below action level

    Monroe
    1.5 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of Monroe's tests, 2023

  • Nearest county

    46.7%

    Genesee, 31 miles

    Genesee
    46.7%
    Monroe
    10.0%

    150 tests, 2023

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    Monroe, where Rochester is

  • Tests reported

    40

    In Monroe

    Monroe
    40
    Genesee
    150

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2023

Read a result for Rochester

Starts at Monroe County's median, 1.5 pCi/L

1.5pCi/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

  1. Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
  2. 2 to 4consider a fix
  3. 4 and aboveEPA says fix it

This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Monroe County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this reading

The data

Rochester, What is published

What is published for Rochester

Information:

Every figure for Rochester is a county's

Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Rochester it is Monroe County's: its EPA zone (Zone 2) and the 40 tests reported to CDC for 2023. Only a test tells you about one home.

Rochester covers 35.8 square miles of land, all of it in Monroe County. Its 206,108 residents live 5,763 to the square mile.

Rochester, Counties

The county Rochester lies in

Measured

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

Monroe CountyZone 2Moderate predicted potential

10.0%
Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
1.5 pCi/L
Median reported result
40 tests
Tests reported to CDC
10
Annual years on file

Monroe County ranks 6th of 6 New York counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 22.0 points below the 32.0% pooled across New York's counties, 23.4 points below the national pool of 33.4%.

Measured from the middle of Rochester, the nearest counties with a CDC figure for 2023 are Genesee County (31 miles, 46.7% of 150 tests), Erie County (63 miles, 26.3% of 38 tests) and Onondaga County (73 miles, 32.6% of 224 tests). Across the 5 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 16.7% to 54.9%; the farthest of them, Albany County, is 189 miles away at 16.7%.

The directory lists 7 businesses with an address in Rochester, 5 for testing and 3 for mitigation. New York's other cities with a page of their own: Syracuse, Binghamton, Ithaca and Buffalo.

The counties around Rochester

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

Nearest counties to Rochester with 30 or more tests
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Genesee County31 mi15046.7%3.6 pCi/L
Erie County63 mi3826.3%2.0 pCi/L
Onondaga County73 mi22432.6%2.5 pCi/L
Cortland County88 mi12254.9%4.6 pCi/L
Albany County189 mi6616.7%1.2 pCi/L

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

Rochester, Geology

The ground under Rochester

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Rochester'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).

USGS's geologic areas under Rochester
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Erie-Ontario LowlandLimestone, dolomite, shale, sandstone, and salt deposits.Moderate999.7%

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

Rochester beside its county and New York

Monroe County as a whole has 3.0% of its land rated high; none of that ground lies under Rochester. Across New York 48.9% of the land is rated high; none of Rochester's is.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Rochester, the county it lies in and New York
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
RochesterBy countyNone99.7%None
Monroe CountyZone 2None96.8%3.0%
New York62 counties, pooled by land areaVaries22.0%28.2%48.9%

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

Rochester, Homes

Homes in Rochester

Fewer than six in ten of Rochester's 103,251 homes are detached houses (44%, against 62% across Monroe 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 Monroe County is 1965; 5% have gone up since 2000. Most occupied homes here are rented: owners live in 37% (Monroe County: 64%). A tenant can run a test; a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Rochester, Monroe County, New York, 2019 to 2023
HomesRochesterMonroe CountyNew York
Housing units103,251337,6888,539,536
Detached houses44%62%41%
In buildings of 5 or more23%18%34%
Mobile homesunder 1%1%2%
Built before 196072%43%53%
Built since 20005%11%12%
Middle year built1939 or earlier19651958
Owner-occupied37%64%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

Rochester, Professionals

Radon professionals listed in Rochester

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

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

Rochester, Local resources

Local resources for Rochester

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

Rochester, Questions

Questions about radon in Rochester

What radon zone is Rochester in?

Rochester takes its zone from Monroe County, which EPA puts in Zone 2, the map's middle class: a predicted county average of 2 to 4 pCi/L.

What are radon levels in Rochester?

Most tests near Rochester come back under EPA's action level, but not all: 10.0% of Monroe County's 40 tests for 2023 were at or above 4 pCi/L. The median reported result was 1.5 pCi/L.

Should I test my home in Rochester?

Yes. In Monroe County, about one reported test in 10 reached 4 pCi/L. That is below New York's pooled 32.0%, and still not a reason to skip it, and ranks Monroe County 6th of the 6 New York counties with 30 or more tests. The number for one house comes only from testing it. How to test a home.

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

USGS's geologic map puts all of Rochester on one named area, "Erie-Ontario Lowland", rated moderate for radon potential, radon index 9.

Is radon higher in the counties around Rochester?

Higher, in every direction measured: all 5 of the nearest counties with a figure report a larger share of high tests than Monroe County's 10.0%, up to Cortland County (54.9%, 88 miles off).

Who tests for or fixes radon in Rochester?

Rochester is the address of 7 businesses in Radon411's directory, 5 listed for testing and 3 for mitigation. Each entry names the public list it came from. Radon professionals in Rochester.

The answers use the published figures of Monroe County, the county Rochester lies in.

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