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 Ward County, North Dakota
EPA puts Ward County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 43.0% of the 446 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
43.0%
16.3 pts below ND
- Ward
- 43.0%
- ND
- 59.3%
446 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
3.3pCi/L
Below action level
- Ward
- 3.3 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
446
4th of 29 by tests
- Ward
- 446
- 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
27 of 29
Lowest quarter
- Ward
- 43.0%
- Pembina
- 82.5%
By share, of 29 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Ward County
Starts at Ward County's median, 3.3 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 3.3 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. Ward County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Ward County, At a glance
Ward County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Ward 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 Ward County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 29%2 to 4 pCi/L: 28%4 pCi/L and above: 43%
Of 446 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 127 | 28.5% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 127 | 28.5% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 192 | 43.0% |
What these figures count
These are the 446 tests reported to CDC for Ward 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).
Ward County, Compared
Ward County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411In Ward County, about 4 in 10 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals (192 of 446) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 35.7%, the gap is 7.3 points higher. Across 53 North Dakota counties pooled together, 59.3% of tests reached that level, so Ward County runs 16.3 points below its state.
Of 2 neighbours with a figure, all 2 reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L; the spread is 63.2% (McLean County) to 66.7% (Mountrail County). By share, Ward County is 27th of 29 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.
Half the tests came in under 3.3 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 33.3 pCi/L. Below the action level, 127 tests (28.5%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 18.3% statewide, and 127 tests (28.5%) fell between 2 and 4, against 22.4% statewide.
Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 43.0% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land high radon potential. CDC also counts 5 tests taken after mitigation in Ward County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
CDC's ten-year totals for Ward County went from 682 tests (2005 to 2014) to 446 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 37.4% to 43.0%.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Ward County, Geology
The ground under Ward County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Ward 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.
Ward County beside the ground around it
On high-potential ground Ward 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; Burke County comes nearest at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Ward County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Ward 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
Ward County, Questions
Questions about radon in Ward County
Are radon levels high in Ward County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 43.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Ward County, North Dakota were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 3.3 pCi/L. Of 29 North Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 26 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 59.3%.
Which counties border Ward County?
Ward County borders 5 counties: McHenry County, Renville County, Mountrail County, McLean County and Burke County.
Products
Ward County, Products
Testing a home in Ward County
In Ward County, 43.0% of 446 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 Ward 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
MonitorAEGTEST
HOUND-3699 radon monitor with a 2.1-inch touchscreen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
First reading: Within 1 hour
Short-term kitempowerDX
Standard Radon Test short-term mail-in radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Passive sampler
In home: 48 to 96 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Ward County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Ward County
Explore
Ward County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Ward County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Renville CountyEPA zone 1
72.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 6.4 pCi/L · 11 tests · 29.7 points above Ward County
- Radon levels in Mountrail CountyEPA zone 1
66.7%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 7.3 pCi/L · 48 tests · 23.7 points above Ward County
- Radon levels in McHenry CountyEPA zone 1
64.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.3 pCi/L · 28 tests · 21.3 points above Ward County
- Radon levels in Burke CountyEPA zone 1
63.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 7.8 pCi/L · 11 tests · 20.6 points above Ward County
- Radon levels in McLean CountyEPA zone 1
63.2%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 5.6 pCi/L · 95 tests · 20.2 points above Ward County
Ward County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Ward County
About 68,233 people live in Ward County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 1,687 fewer than in 2020 (−2.4%). That works out to 34 people per square mile of land. Minot alone is home to 47,308 of them, 69.3% of the total. Together its 12 incorporated places hold 77.0% of those residents; the other 23.0% live outside any of them. CDC's 446 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 work out to 6.5 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to North Dakota's 8.3.
From Minot to Donnybrook, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Ward County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minot | 47,308 | −2.2% | 69.3% |
| Surrey | 1,450 | +7.1% | 2.1% |
| Burlington | 1,350 | +4.9% | 2.0% |
| Kenmare | 911 | −5.0% | 1.3% |
| Berthold | 464 | −4.3% | 0.7% |
| Sawyer | 307 | −5.0% | 0.4% |
| Des Lacs | 182 | −3.7% | 0.3% |
| Makoti | 153 | +1.3% | 0.2% |
| Carpio | 140 | −4.8% | 0.2% |
| Ryder | 103 | −5.5% | 0.2% |
| Douglas | 88 | −5.4% | 0.1% |
| Donnybrook | 72 | −5.3% | 0.1% |
12 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).
Ward County, Homes
Homes in Ward County
Fewer than six in ten of Ward County's 32,372 homes are detached houses (53%, against 57% across North Dakota); the rest are attached, in shared buildings or mobile. Half of its homes were built before 1983, close to North Dakota's 1981: 23% date from before 1960 and 35% from 2000 or later. 62% 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 | Ward County | North Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 32,372 | 374,866 |
| Detached houses | 53% | 57% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 22% | 25% |
| Mobile homes | 8% | 7% |
| Built before 1960 | 23% | 24% |
| Built since 2000 | 35% | 31% |
| Middle year built | 1983 | 1981 |
| Owner-occupied | 62% | 63% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.