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
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Nelson County, North Dakota
EPA puts Nelson County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 19 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
Share at 4+ pCi/L
50.0%
4.0 pts below ND
- Nelson
- 50.0%
- ND
- 54.0%
34 tests, 2005 to 2014
Median result
3.8pCi/L
Below action level
- Nelson
- 3.8 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2005 to 2014
Tests reported
34
36th of 39 by tests
- Nelson
- 34
- Burleigh
- 1,312
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2005 to 2014
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in ND
28 of 39
Middle half
- Nelson
- 50.0%
- Billings
- 90.9%
By share, of 39 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Nelson County
Starts at Nelson County's median, 3.8 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 3.8 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. Nelson County's median reported result, 2005 to 2014.
The data
Nelson County, At a glance
Nelson County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Nelson County in
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 Nelson County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 19 reported tests for Nelson County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 5.7 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Nelson County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 19 tests were reported to CDC for Nelson 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).
Nelson County, Compared
Nelson County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 50.0% of the 34 radon tests reported to CDC for Nelson County over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 28th of 39 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 4.0 points below the 54.0% pooled from 53 North Dakota counties.
The newest figure, over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, counts only 19 tests (63.2% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 34-test figure.
The median result, 3.8 pCi/L, sits between 2 and EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 87.3 pCi/L. The rest split 29.4% under 2 pCi/L and 20.6% 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 50.0% share point the same way here.
All 5 of its bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Walsh County at 76.6%; the lowest of them, Griggs County, reported 54.8%. 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 Nelson County went from 34 tests (2005 to 2014) to 19 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 50.0% to 63.2%.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 36.0%; Nelson County sits 14.0 points above it.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Nelson County, Geology
The ground under Nelson County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Nelson 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).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Plains (Glaciated) | Glacial deposits derived from Cretaceous shales containing higher than average amounts of uranium. | High | 13 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Nelson County beside the ground around it
On high-potential ground Nelson County is close to North Dakota as a whole: 100% of its land against 98.9%. Of the 7 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Eddy County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Nelson County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Nelson County
- North Dakota's radon programNorth Dakota Department of Environmental QualityNorth Dakota's radon program offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in North Dakota.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Notice: The DEQ is out of free radon test kits.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in North Dakota47 professionals are listed in North Dakota.
What North Dakota's program says
- Phone
- 701-328-5166
- jOtto@nd.gov
What it means
Nelson County, Questions
Questions about radon in Nelson County
Are radon levels high in Nelson County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 63.2% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Nelson County, North Dakota were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.7 pCi/L. Of 39 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 27 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 54.0%.
Which counties border Nelson County?
Nelson County borders 7 counties: Ramsey County, Grand Forks County, Griggs County, Walsh County, Eddy County, Steele County and Benson County.
Products
Nelson County, Products
Testing a home in Nelson County
In Nelson County, 50.0% of 34 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 Nelson 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
Monitor
EcoQube Wi-Fi continuous radon monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Plug-in
- Wi-Fi
- App only
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
Short-term kit
Air Chek Short-Term radon test kit you hang, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
In home: 72 to 168 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Nelson County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Nelson County
Explore
Nelson County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Nelson County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Walsh CountyEPA zone 1
76.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 8.7 pCi/L · 145 tests · 26.6 points above Nelson County
- Radon levels in Grand Forks CountyEPA zone 1
73.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 8.0 pCi/L · 436 tests · 23.9 points above Nelson County
- Radon levels in Ramsey CountyEPA zone 1
73.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.5 pCi/L · 131 tests · 23.3 points above Nelson County
- Radon levels in Benson CountyEPA zone 1
65.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.2 pCi/L · 41 tests · 15.9 points above Nelson County
- Radon levels in Griggs CountyEPA zone 1
54.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.1 pCi/L · 31 tests · 4.8 points above Nelson County
- Radon levels in Eddy CountyEPA zone 1
29.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.1 pCi/L · 17 tests · 20.6 points below Nelson County
- Radon levels in Steele CountyEPA zone 1
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.4 pCi/L · 2 tests · 50.0 points below Nelson County
Nelson County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Nelson County
About 2,963 people live in Nelson County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 30 fewer than in 2020 (−1.0%). Spread over its land, that is 3.0 people to the square mile. Its largest town, Lakota, has 683 residents, 23.1% of the total. Together its 7 incorporated places hold 64.9% of those residents; the other 35.1% live outside any of them. CDC's 34 reported tests for 2005 to 2014 work out to 11.5 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to North Dakota's 8.2.
From Lakota to Pekin, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Nelson County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lakota | 683 | +0.4% | 23.1% |
| McVille | 386 | −1.5% | 13.0% |
| Michigan City | 258 | −1.1% | 8.7% |
| Aneta | 233 | −1.3% | 7.9% |
| Petersburg | 157 | −1.9% | 5.3% |
| Tolna | 132 | −1.5% | 4.5% |
| Pekin | 74 | Level | 2.5% |
7 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).
Nelson County, Homes
Homes in Nelson County
Nelson County is a place of houses on their own lots: 84% of its 1,798 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 1962 (1981 for North Dakota), and 47% date from before 1960. Owners live in 77% of the occupied homes (North Dakota: 63%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Nelson County | North Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 1,798 | 374,866 |
| Detached houses | 84% | 57% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 8% | 25% |
| Mobile homes | 4% | 7% |
| Built before 1960 | 47% | 24% |
| Built since 2000 | 8% | 31% |
| Middle year built | 1962 | 1981 |
| Owner-occupied | 77% | 63% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.