Locations and reports
Radon in Wake Forest, North Carolina
Wake Forest lies in 2 counties, in EPA Zone 2; 97.2% of it is in Wake County, where 2.3% of 88 reported tests (2022) were at or above 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so the only way to know your home's level is to test it.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
2.3%
8.4 pts below NC
- Wake
- 2.3%
- NC
- 10.7%
Wake, 2nd of 4 in NC, 2022
Median result
0.1pCi/L
Below action level
- Wake
- 0.1 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of Wake's tests, 2022
Highest county
19.1%
Franklin
- Franklin
- 19.1%
- Wake
- 2.3%
2 counties, 2 with 30+ tests, 2022
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
Wake; Franklin Zone 2
Tests reported
88
In Wake
- Wake
- 88
- Franklin
- 204
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2022
Read a result for Wake Forest
Starts at Wake County's median, 0.1 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 0.2 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. 0.1 pCi/L above Wake County's median of 0.1 pCi/L.
The data
Wake Forest, What is published
What is published for Wake Forest
Every figure for Wake Forest is a county's
Radon data is published by county, not by city, and Wake Forest reaches into 2 counties: Wake County and Franklin County. Each has its own EPA zone, and 1 of them has CDC test figures, set side by side below and each labelled with its county. Only a test tells you about one home.
Wake Forest covers 18 square miles of land: 97.2% of it lies in Wake County and 2.8% in Franklin County. About 58,147 people live there, 3,222 to the square mile.
Wake Forest, Counties
Wake Forest's counties, side by side
MeasuredEach county's own EPA zone and its own published CDC figures for 2022, the newest period any of them has. A county without a figure for that period is shown without one, never with a figure from another year.
- Wake County
- EPA zone
- Zone 2: Moderate predicted potential
- At or above 4 pCi/L
- 2.3%
- Median result
- 0.1 pCi/L
- Tests reported
- 88 tests
- Annual years on file
- 4
- Franklin County
- EPA zone
- Zone 2: Moderate predicted potential
- At or above 4 pCi/L
- Not published
- Median result
- Not published
- Tests reported
- Not published
- Annual years on file
- 3
No published CDC figure for 2022. Its latest is for 2021, on its report.
| County | EPA zone | Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L | Median reported result | Tests reported | Annual years on file |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wake County | Zone 2: Moderate predicted potential | 2.3% | 0.1 pCi/L | 88 tests | 4 |
| Franklin CountyNo published CDC figure for 2022. Its latest is for 2021, on its report. | Zone 2: Moderate predicted potential | Not published | Not published | Not published | 3 |
Wake Forest spans 2 counties, each with its own EPA zone and its own CDC figure: Wake County (Zone 2, 2.3% of 88 tests) and Franklin County (Zone 2, no CDC figure for the period).
Wake County ranks 2nd of 4 North Carolina counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 8.4 points below the 10.7% pooled across North Carolina's counties, 21.6 points below the national pool of 23.9%. Franklin County has no CDC figure for that period, so its share is left blank rather than borrowed from another year.
Measured from the middle of Wake Forest, the nearest counties with a CDC figure for 2022 are Wayne County (50 miles, 1.5% of 67 tests), Pitt County (69 miles, 0.9% of 116 tests) and Buncombe County (227 miles, 38.0% of 50 tests). Their shares run from 0.9% to 38.0%.
No business in the directory gives Wake Forest as its address; the North Carolina list covers it. North Carolina's other cities with a page of their own: Raleigh, Asheville, Charlotte and Boone.
Against North Carolina and its other counties
Shares of tests people chose to run and report, by county (2022); the state's is its counties' counts added up, calculated by Radon411. Only a test measures a home.
The counties around Wake Forest
By distance from the middle of Wake Forest; counties with 30 or more tests.
The median reported pre-mitigation result for 2022 was 0.1 pCi/L in Wake County.
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2022.
Wake Forest, Geology
The ground under Wake Forest
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Wake Forest's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Raleigh Belt, to which USGS gives a radon index of 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raleigh Belt | Proterozoic through Cambrian biotite gneiss and mica schist. | Moderate | 11 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Wake Forest beside its counties and North Carolina
Wake Forest sits on more moderate-potential ground than Wake County as a whole: 100% of the city against 79.4% of the county. Across North Carolina 1.3% of the land is rated high; none of Wake Forest's is.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Wake Forest, Homes
Homes in Wake Forest
Of Wake Forest's 18,824 homes, 68% are detached houses, against 59% across Wake County; 16% are in buildings of five or more homes. Much of Wake Forest is recent building: 71% of its homes have gone up since 2000 and the middle year built is 2007, against 1999 for Wake County. 75% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Wake County: 64%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Wake Forest | Wake County | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 18,824 | 481,999 | 4,815,195 |
| Detached houses | 68% | 59% | 65% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 16% | 24% | 14% |
| Mobile homes | 2% | 3% | 11% |
| Built before 1960 | 3% | 6% | 14% |
| Built since 2000 | 71% | 48% | 33% |
| Middle year built | 2007 | 1999 | 1990 |
| Owner-occupied | 75% | 64% | 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
Wake Forest, Local resources
Local resources for Wake Forest
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
Wake Forest, Questions
Questions about radon in Wake Forest
What radon zone is Wake Forest in?
Both counties Wake Forest reaches into (Wake County and Franklin County) are in Zone 2, the map's middle class: a predicted county average of 2 to 4 pCi/L. EPA zones counties, not cities, so that is the zone for every part of Wake Forest.
What are radon levels in Wake Forest?
Reported levels around Wake Forest run low: 2.3% of 88 tests from Wake County for 2022 reached 4 pCi/L. The median reported result was 0.1 pCi/L. Low is not none.
Should I test my home in Wake Forest?
Yes, even here. Wake County reported 2 of 88 tests at or above 4 pCi/L. That is below North Carolina's pooled 10.7%, and still not a reason to skip it. Testing found those homes; the county's low share did not. How to test a home.
What ground is Wake Forest built on, as far as radon goes?
USGS's geologic map puts all of Wake Forest on one named area, "Raleigh Belt", rated moderate for radon potential, radon index 11.
Is radon higher in the counties around Wake Forest?
It depends which way you go. 1 of the 3 nearest counties with a figure report a larger share than Wake County's 2.3% and 2 a smaller one: from Pitt County (0.9%, 69 miles off) to Buncombe County (38.0%, 227 miles off).
The answers use the published figures of Wake County and Franklin County, the counties Wake Forest lies in.
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