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 Towner County, North Dakota
EPA puts Towner County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 25 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
51.3%
2.7 pts below ND
- Towner
- 51.3%
- ND
- 54.0%
39 tests, 2005 to 2014
Median result
4.9pCi/L
Action level reached
- Towner
- 4.9 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2005 to 2014
Tests reported
39
31st of 39 by tests
- Towner
- 39
- 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
26 of 39
Middle half
- Towner
- 51.3%
- Billings
- 90.9%
By share, of 39 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Towner County
Starts at Towner County's median, 4.9 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.9 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. Towner County's median reported result, 2005 to 2014.
The data
Towner County, At a glance
Towner County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Towner 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 Towner County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 25 reported tests for Towner County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 5.6 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Towner County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 25 tests were reported to CDC for Towner 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).
Towner County, Compared
Towner County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411More than half: 51.3% of the 39 radon tests reported to CDC for Towner County over the 2005 to 2014 laboratory totals read at least 4 pCi/L. That places it 26th of 39 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. That is 2.7 points below the 54.0% pooled from 53 North Dakota counties.
The newest figure, over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, counts only 25 tests (56.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 39-test figure.
The median result, 4.9 pCi/L, sits above EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 18.3 pCi/L. The rest split 25.6% under 2 pCi/L and 23.1% 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 51.3% share point the same way here.
2 of its 5 bordering counties with figures ran higher, led by Ramsey County at 73.3%; Pierce County reported 42.9%. 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 Towner County went from 39 tests (2005 to 2014) to 25 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 51.3% to 56.0%.
Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 36.0%; Towner County sits 15.3 points above it.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Towner County, Geology
The ground under Towner County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Towner County's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. The map puts 91.1% of Towner County in the area it calls Great Plains (Glaciated) and 8.9% in Glacial Lakes. USGS gives the first a radon index of 13 and the second 14, both 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 | 91.1% |
| Glacial Lakes | Silt and clay deposits derived from Cretaceous shales containing higher than average amounts of uranium. | High | 14 | 8.9% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Towner County beside the ground around it
On high-potential ground Towner County is close to North Dakota as a whole: 100% of its land against 98.9%. Of the 5 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Ramsey County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Towner County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Towner 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
Towner County, Questions
Questions about radon in Towner County
Are radon levels high in Towner County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 56.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Towner County, North Dakota were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 5.6 pCi/L. Of 39 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 25 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 54.0%.
Which counties border Towner County?
Towner County borders 5 counties: Rolette County, Ramsey County, Benson County, Cavalier County and Pierce County.
Products
Towner County, Products
Testing a home in Towner County
In Towner County, 51.3% of 39 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 Towner 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
MonitorAranet
Radon Plus battery digital radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- Alarm
- Screen, app
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
Short-term kit
RA100 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Towner County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Towner County
Explore
Towner County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Towner County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Ramsey CountyEPA zone 1
73.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.5 pCi/L · 131 tests · 22.0 points above Towner County
- Radon levels in Benson CountyEPA zone 1
65.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.2 pCi/L · 41 tests · 14.6 points above Towner County
- Radon levels in Cavalier CountyEPA zone 1
45.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.7 pCi/L · 66 tests · 5.8 points below Towner County
- Radon levels in Rolette CountyEPA zone 1
42.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.2 pCi/L · 35 tests · 8.4 points below Towner County
- Radon levels in Pierce CountyEPA zone 1
42.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.7 pCi/L · 42 tests · 8.4 points below Towner County
Towner County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Towner County
About 2,040 people live in Towner County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 107 fewer than in 2020 (−5.0%). Spread over its land, that is 2.0 people to the square mile. Cando alone is home to 1,051 of them, 51.5% of the total. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 39 reported tests for 2005 to 2014 come to 19.1 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 8.2 for North Dakota.
From Cando to Perth, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Towner County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cando | 1,051 | −5.6% | 51.5% |
| Bisbee | 102 | −4.7% | 5.0% |
| Rocklake | 91 | −4.2% | 4.5% |
| Egeland | 31 | −3.1% | 1.5% |
| Sarlesextends beyond Towner County | 21 | −4.5% | Counted whole |
| Hansboro | 14 | −6.7% | 0.7% |
| Perth | 6 | Level | 0.3% |
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). A place that extends beyond Towner County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Towner County, Homes
Homes in Towner County
Towner County is a place of houses on their own lots: 82% of its 1,263 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 1968 (1981 for North Dakota), and 39% 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 | Towner County | North Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 1,263 | 374,866 |
| Detached houses | 82% | 57% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 8% | 25% |
| Mobile homes | 4% | 7% |
| Built before 1960 | 39% | 24% |
| Built since 2000 | 6% | 31% |
| Middle year built | 1968 | 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.