Locations and reports
Radon in Charlotte, North Carolina
EPA puts Mecklenburg County, where Charlotte is, in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 17 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2022). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
8.5%
14.1 pts below NC
- Mecklenburg
- 8.5%
- NC
- 22.6%
Mecklenburg, 55th of 75 in NC, 2008 to 2017
Median result
0.9pCi/L
Below action level
- Mecklenburg
- 0.9 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of Mecklenburg's tests, 2008 to 2017
Nearest county
8.8%
Cabarrus, 20 miles
- Cabarrus
- 8.8%
- Mecklenburg
- 8.5%
880 tests, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 3
Low potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
Mecklenburg, where Charlotte is
Tests reported
3,753
In Mecklenburg
- Mecklenburg
- 3,753
- Cabarrus
- 880
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
Read a result for Charlotte
Starts at Mecklenburg County's median, 0.9 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 0.9 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. Mecklenburg County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Charlotte, What is published
What is published for Charlotte
Every figure for Charlotte is a county's
Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Charlotte it is Mecklenburg County's: its EPA zone (Zone 3) and the 17 tests reported to CDC for 2022. Only a test tells you about one home.
Charlotte covers 308 square miles of land, all of it in Mecklenburg County. About 964,784 people live there, 3,130 to the square mile.
Charlotte, Counties
The county Charlotte lies in
MeasuredMecklenburg County's EPA zone and the figures CDC publishes for it, 2022.
Mecklenburg CountyZone 3Lower predicted potential
- 0.0%
- Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
- 0.1 pCi/L
- Median reported result
- 17 tests
- Tests reported to CDC
- 4
- Annual years on file
Mecklenburg County ranks 55th of 75 North Carolina counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 22.6 points below the 22.6% pooled across North Carolina's counties, 35.7 points below the national pool of 35.7%.
Measured from the middle of Charlotte, the nearest counties with a CDC figure for 2008 to 2017, laboratory are Cabarrus County (20 miles, 8.8% of 880 tests), Gaston County (21 miles, 19.1% of 593 tests) and Union County (23 miles, 11.2% of 836 tests). Across the 8 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 8.8% to 29.0%; the farthest of them, Iredell County, is 41 miles away at 21.8%.
No business in the directory gives Charlotte as its address; the North Carolina list covers it. North Carolina's other cities with a page of their own: Raleigh, Asheville, Boone and Greensboro.
The counties around Charlotte
By distance from the middle of Charlotte; counties with 30 or more tests.
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2022.
Charlotte, Geology
The ground under Charlotte
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Charlotte's mapped land in one class: low radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Charlotte Belt, to which USGS gives a radon index of 8, in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte Belt | Igneous rocks, including granite, gabbro, and diorite. | Low | 8 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Charlotte beside its county and North Carolina
Neither Charlotte nor Mecklenburg County as a whole has any land USGS rates above low potential. Across North Carolina 1.3% of the land is rated high; none of Charlotte's is.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Charlotte, Homes
Homes in Charlotte
Charlotte has 390,835 homes, and many share a building: 34% are in buildings of five or more, 52% are detached houses, against 56% across Mecklenburg County. Half of its homes were built before 1994, close to Mecklenburg County's 1996: 11% date from before 1960 and 40% from 2000 or later. 52% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Mecklenburg County: 56%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Charlotte | Mecklenburg County | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 390,835 | 491,721 | 4,815,195 |
| Detached houses | 52% | 56% | 65% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 34% | 31% | 14% |
| Mobile homes | 1% | 1% | 11% |
| Built before 1960 | 11% | 9% | 14% |
| Built since 2000 | 40% | 43% | 33% |
| Middle year built | 1994 | 1996 | 1990 |
| Owner-occupied | 52% | 56% | 66% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.
Local help
Charlotte, Local resources
Local resources for Charlotte
Who to ask in North Carolina: its radon program, test kits and professionals.
- North Carolina Radon ProgramRun by NCDHHS.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsAsk the program whether it has free or discounted kits, or compare kits you can buy.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in North CarolinaRadon testers and mitigators in North Carolina, each with how its listing was checked.
The program's own words on licensing are on the North Carolina page.
What it means
Charlotte, Questions
Questions about radon in Charlotte
What radon zone is Charlotte in?
Charlotte takes its zone from Mecklenburg County, which EPA puts in Zone 3, the map's lowest class: a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. A low zone does not clear a house: homes over the action level are found in all three.
What are radon levels in Charlotte?
Only 17 tests from Mecklenburg County are on file with CDC for 2022, 0.0% of them at or above 4 pCi/L: too few to say how Charlotte runs.
Should I test my home in Charlotte?
Yes. With no dependable count of tests for Mecklenburg County, a test of your own is the only reading there is; a short-term kit takes a few days. How to test a home.
What ground is Charlotte built on, as far as radon goes?
USGS's geologic map puts all of Charlotte on one named area, "Charlotte Belt", rated low for radon potential, radon index 8.
Is radon higher in the counties around Charlotte?
Higher, in every direction measured: all 8 of the nearest counties with a figure report a larger share of high tests than Mecklenburg County's 0.0%, up to Lincoln County (29.0%, 29 miles off).
The answers use the published figures of Mecklenburg County, the county Charlotte lies in.
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