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Radon Levels in Emmons County, North Dakota

EPA puts Emmons County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 29 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.

Data checked By Radon411Methodology

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  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    64.9%

    10.9 pts above ND

    Emmons
    64.9%
    ND
    54.0%

    57 tests, 2005 to 2014

  • Median result

    5.5pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Emmons
    5.5 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2005 to 2014

  • Tests reported

    57

    20th of 39 by tests

    Emmons
    57
    Burleigh
    1,312

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2005 to 2014

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in ND

    16 of 39

    Middle half

    Emmons
    64.9%
    Billings
    90.9%

    By share, of 39 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Emmons County

Starts at Emmons County's median, 5.5 pCi/L

5.5pCi/L

EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.

EPA’s reading of 5.5 pCi/L

At or above 4 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 at or above 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends fixing a home when the radon level is 4 pCi/L or higher. Emmons County's median reported result, 2005 to 2014.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Emmons County, At a glance

Emmons County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential

EPA puts all of Emmons County in and predicts an average indoor of greater than 4 pCi/L (greater than 150 Bq/m³) across the county. That is one forecast for the whole county, not a reading of any address in it; homes above EPA's turn up in all three zones.

USGS geologic potential: High across 100% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Emmons County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory

CDC holds 29 reported tests for Emmons County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 7.1 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Emmons County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.

What these figures count

Only 29 tests were reported to CDC for Emmons County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), 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: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).

How to read these figures

Emmons County, Compared

Emmons County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

More than half: 64.9% of the 57 radon tests reported to CDC for Emmons County over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 16th of 39 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 10.9 points above the 54.0% pooled from 53 North Dakota counties.

The newest figure, over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, counts only 29 tests (86.2% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 57-test figure.

The median result, 5.5 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 51.8 pCi/L. The rest split 17.5% under 2 pCi/L and 17.5% from 2 to 4 (North Dakota: 22.0% and 23.9%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 64.9% share point the same way here.

2 of its 4 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Kidder County at 76.9%; Burleigh County reported 47.6%. Statewide for the same period, Billings County reported the highest share (90.9%) and Williams County the lowest (35.1%).

CDC's ten-year totals for Emmons County went from 57 tests (2005 to 2014) to 29 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 64.9% to 86.2%.

Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 36.0%; Emmons County sits 28.9 points above it.

Emmons County against North Dakota, the United States and nearby counties, 2005 to 2014, laboratory
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Emmons County
Emmons County5764.9%5.5 pCi/LThis county
North Dakota, pooled53 counties, pooled6,53154.0%Not pooled−10.9 points
United States, pooled2,655 counties, pooled1,669,35336.0%Not pooled−28.9 points
Billings Countyhighest in the state3390.9%11.8 pCi/L+26.0 points
Williams Countylowest in the state30535.1%3.0 pCi/L−29.8 points
Sioux County, NDborders it2100.0%9.3 pCi/L+35.1 points
Kidder County, NDborders it3976.9%6.2 pCi/L+12.0 points
McIntosh County, NDborders it3868.4%6.5 pCi/L+3.5 points
Logan County, NDborders it1656.3%4.6 pCi/L−8.6 points
Morton County, NDborders it27251.1%4.0 pCi/L−13.8 points
Corson County, SDborders it250.0%8.0 pCi/L−14.9 points
Burleigh County, NDborders it1,31247.6%3.8 pCi/L−17.3 points
Campbell County, SDborders it540.0%3.9 pCi/L−24.9 points
Where Emmons County's reported results fell, 2005 to 2014, laboratory, beside North Dakota and the United States
ResultEmmons County testsEmmons County shareNorth Dakota shareU.S. shareAgainst North Dakota
Under 2 pCi/L1017.5%22.0%39.8%−4.5 points
2 to 4 pCi/L1017.5%23.9%24.2%−6.4 points
4 pCi/L and above3764.9%54.0%36.0%+10.9 points
Emmons County ranked among the 39 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2005 to 2014, laboratory
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
McIntosh County11 of 393868.4%6.5 pCi/L
Bottineau County12 of 3910167.3%6.1 pCi/L
Barnes County13 of 3910667.0%5.5 pCi/L
Grant County14 of 393066.7%6.0 pCi/L
Benson County15 of 394165.9%5.2 pCi/L
Emmons County16 of 395764.9%5.5 pCi/L
Mountrail County17 of 395563.6%5.9 pCi/L
Stark County18 of 3940562.2%5.1 pCi/L
McKenzie County19 of 395062.0%4.9 pCi/L
Ransom County20 of 3917859.6%5.0 pCi/L
Hettinger County21 of 393458.8%5.6 pCi/L
Emmons County ten-year laboratory totals, against North Dakota's pooled share
PeriodTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestNorth Dakota, pooledChange from the row before
2008 to 20172986.2%7.1 pCi/L40.9 pCi/L59.3%+4.6 points
2007 to 20163881.6%7.2 pCi/L51.8 pCi/L58.7%+12.2 points
2006 to 20154969.4%5.9 pCi/L51.8 pCi/L56.3%+4.5 points
2005 to 20145764.9%5.5 pCi/L51.8 pCi/L54.0%First on file

Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.

Emmons County, Geology

The ground under Emmons County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Emmons County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Great Plains (Glaciated), to which USGS gives a radon index of 13, in the high band (12 to 17).

USGS's geologic areas under Emmons County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Great Plains (Glaciated)Glacial deposits derived from Cretaceous shales containing higher than average amounts of uranium.High13100%

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

Emmons County beside the ground around it

On high-potential ground Emmons County is close to North Dakota as a whole: 100% of its land against 98.9%. Of the 8 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Burleigh County comes nearest at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Emmons County, the 8 counties bordering it and North Dakota
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Emmons CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Sioux CountyZone 1None21.4%78.6%
Logan CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Campbell County, SDZone 1NoneNone100%
McIntosh CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Kidder CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Burleigh CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Morton CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
Corson County, SDZone 1None43.8%56.2%
North Dakota53 counties, pooled by land areaVariesNone1.1%98.9%

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

Local help

Emmons County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Emmons County

What North Dakota's program says
Phone
701-328-5166
Email
jOtto@nd.gov

What it means

Emmons County, Questions

Questions about radon in Emmons County

Are radon levels high in Emmons County?

Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 86.2% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Emmons County, North Dakota were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 7.1 pCi/L. Of 39 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 15 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 54.0%.

Which counties border Emmons County?

Emmons County borders 8 counties: Sioux County, ND, Logan County, ND, Campbell County, SD, McIntosh County, ND, Kidder County, ND, Burleigh County, ND, Morton County, ND and Corson County, SD.

Products

Emmons County, Products

Testing a home in Emmons County

In Emmons County, 64.9% of 57 tests reported to CDC over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 54.0% pooled across North Dakota. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Emmons County is the one to know: a long-term test (more than 90 days) or a monitor, with a short-term kit for a first answer.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Emmons County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Emmons County

Explore

Emmons County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Emmons County

Calculated by Radon411

Emmons County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Emmons County

About 3,215 people live in Emmons County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 80 fewer than in 2020 (−2.4%). Spread over its land, that is 2.1 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Linton, has 1,041 residents, 32.4% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 53.0% of those residents; the other 47.0% live outside any of them. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 57 reported tests for 2005 to 2014 come to 17.7 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 8.2 for North Dakota.

From Linton to Braddock, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Emmons County's.

The cities and towns in Emmons County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Linton1,041−2.3%32.4%
Strasburg357−6.1%11.1%
Hazelton218−2.2%6.8%
Hague70−1.4%2.2%
Braddock19Level0.6%

5 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).

Emmons County, Homes

Homes in Emmons County

Emmons County is a place of houses on their own lots: 81% of its 2,049 homes are detached single-family houses, against 57% across North Dakota. The homes are older than North Dakota's as a whole: half were built before 1965 (1981 for North Dakota), and 45% date from before 1960. Owners live in 81% of the occupied homes (North Dakota: 63%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Emmons County, North Dakota, 2019 to 2023
HomesEmmons CountyNorth Dakota
Housing units2,049374,866
Detached houses81%57%
In buildings of 5 or more5%25%
Mobile homes10%7%
Built before 196045%24%
Built since 200014%31%
Middle year built19651981
Owner-occupied81%63%

Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.