Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Pembina County, North Dakota
EPA puts Pembina County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 82.5% of the 57 radon tests reported to CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) came back at or above 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
82.5%
23.2 pts above ND
- Pembina
- 82.5%
- ND
- 59.3%
57 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
9.3pCi/L
Action level reached
- Pembina
- 9.3 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
57
19th of 29 by tests
- Pembina
- 57
- Burleigh
- 1,558
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
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
1 of 29
Top quarter
- Pembina
- 82.5%
- Pembina
- 82.5%
By share, of 29 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Pembina County
Starts at Pembina County's median, 9.3 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 9.3 pCi/L
At or above 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 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. Pembina County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Pembina County, At a glance
Pembina County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Pembina 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 Pembina County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 9%2 to 4 pCi/L: 9%4 pCi/L and above: 82%
Of 57 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 5 | 8.8% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 5 | 8.8% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 47 | 82.5% |
What these figures count
These are the 57 tests reported to CDC for Pembina County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), many from homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: they describe the county's reported tests, not this house.
Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Pembina County, Compared
Pembina County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 82.5% of the 57 radon tests reported to CDC for Pembina County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 1st of 29 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 23.2 points above the 59.3% pooled from 53 North Dakota counties.
The median result, 9.3 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 62.9 pCi/L. The rest split 8.8% under 2 pCi/L and 8.8% from 2 to 4 (North Dakota: 18.3% and 22.4%). Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 82.5% share point the same way here.
No bordering county with a figure for the same period reported a higher share; the closest is Walsh County at 79.5%, the lowest Marshall County, MN at 55.6%. Statewide for the same period, Walsh County reported the highest share (79.5%) and Williams County the lowest (33.8%).
CDC's ten-year totals for Pembina County went from 60 tests (2005 to 2014) to 57 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 73.3% to 82.5%.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Pembina County sits 46.8 points above it. CDC also counts 7 tests taken after mitigation in Pembina County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Pembina County, Geology
The ground under Pembina County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Pembina County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. 95.6% of it lies in the area the map calls Glacial Lakes, to which USGS gives a radon index of 14, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glacial Lakes | Silt and clay deposits of Glacial Lake Agassiz derived from Cretaceous shales containing higher than average amounts of uranium. | High | 14 | 95.6% |
| Great Plains (Glaciated) | Glacial deposits derived from Cretaceous shales containing higher than average amounts of uranium. | High | 13 | 4.0% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Pembina County beside the ground around it
On high-potential ground Pembina County is close to North Dakota as a whole: 99.8% of its land against 98.9%. Of the 4 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Walsh County the most at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Pembina County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Pembina 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
Pembina County, Questions
Questions about radon in Pembina County
Are radon levels high in Pembina County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 82.5% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Pembina County, North Dakota were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 9.3 pCi/L. Of 29 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, none reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 59.3%.
Which counties border Pembina County?
Pembina County borders 4 counties: Walsh County, ND, Kittson County, MN, Cavalier County, ND and Marshall County, MN.
Products
Pembina County, Products
Testing a home in Pembina County
In Pembina County, 82.5% of 57 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 59.3% pooled across North Dakota. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Pembina 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
MonitorX-Sense
XR0A-iR Wi-Fi battery radon detector with a screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Wi-Fi
- Screen, app
Method: Alpha spectrometry
First reading: Within 24 hours
Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Pembina County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Pembina County
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Pembina County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Pembina County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Walsh County, NDEPA zone 1
79.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 9.8 pCi/L · 132 tests · 3.0 points below Pembina County
- Radon levels in Marshall County, MNEPA zone 1
55.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.4 pCi/L · 99 tests · 26.9 points below Pembina County
- Radon levels in Cavalier County, NDEPA zone 1
50.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.9 pCi/L · 28 tests · 32.5 points below Pembina County
- Radon levels in Kittson County, MNEPA zone 1
30.4%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.2 pCi/L · 23 tests · 52.1 points below Pembina County
Pembina County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Pembina County
About 6,568 people live in Pembina County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 259 fewer than in 2020 (−3.8%). Spread over its land, that is 5.9 people to the square mile. No town dominates: Cavalier, the largest, has 1,218 residents, 18.5% of the total. Together its 11 incorporated places hold 64.6% of those residents; the other 35.4% live outside any of them. CDC's 57 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 work out to 8.7 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to North Dakota's 8.3.
From Cavalier to Canton City (Hensel), CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Pembina County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cavalier | 1,218 | −2.8% | 18.5% |
| Walhalla | 867 | −3.0% | 13.2% |
| Drayton | 724 | −4.2% | 11.0% |
| Pembina | 492 | −3.7% | 7.5% |
| Neche | 331 | −4.3% | 5.0% |
| St. Thomas | 305 | −3.8% | 4.6% |
| Crystal | 108 | −3.6% | 1.6% |
| Mountain | 79 | −1.3% | 1.2% |
| Bathgate | 46 | −4.2% | 0.7% |
| Hamilton | 40 | −4.8% | 0.6% |
| Canton City (Hensel) | 30 | −3.2% | 0.5% |
11 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).
Pembina County, Homes
Homes in Pembina County
Pembina County is a place of houses on their own lots: 82% of its 3,517 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 1967 (1981 for North Dakota), and 41% date from before 1960. 75% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (North Dakota: 63%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Pembina County | North Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 3,517 | 374,866 |
| Detached houses | 82% | 57% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 7% | 25% |
| Mobile homes | 6% | 7% |
| Built before 1960 | 41% | 24% |
| Built since 2000 | 5% | 31% |
| Middle year built | 1967 | 1981 |
| Owner-occupied | 75% | 63% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.