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Radon Levels in Baker County, Oregon

EPA puts Baker County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 11 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2023). 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

    37.5%

    12.1 pts above OR

    Baker
    37.5%
    Oregon
    25.4%

    40 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    2.4pCi/L

    Below action level

    Baker
    2.4 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Tests reported

    40

    16th of 23 by tests

    Baker
    40
    Multnomah
    12,330

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Oregon

    3 of 23

    Top quarter

    Baker
    37.5%
    Union
    42.0%

    By share, of 23 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Baker County

Starts at Baker County's median, 2.4 pCi/L

2.4pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 2.4 pCi/L

Between 2 and 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 between 2 and 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Baker County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Baker County, At a glance

Baker County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Baker County is a county: EPA's forecast for it as a whole is an average indoor of 2 to 4 pCi/L (75 to 150 Bq/m³). It describes no single address, and homes above EPA's are found in every zone, this one included.

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

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Baker County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Baker County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Baker County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201422.2%
201537.9%
201633.3%
201757.1%
201833.3%
201933.3%
202045.5%
202125.0%
202225.0%
20239.1%

2023: 9.1%. Across these years the share ran from 9.1% to 57.1%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

Only 11 tests were reported to CDC for Baker County over 2023, 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: 2023. Measured data period: 2005 to 2023 (every CDC figure on file).

How to read these figures

Baker County, Compared

Baker County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

In Baker County, about 4 in 10 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals (15 of 40) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 35.7%, the gap is 1.8 points higher. Across 34 Oregon counties pooled together, 25.4% of tests reached that level, so Baker County runs 12.1 points above its state.

The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 11 tests (9.1% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 40-test figure.

Of 3 neighbours with a figure, 2 reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L and 1 a smaller one; the spread is 20.9% (Washington County, ID) to 51.6% (Adams County, ID). By share, Baker County is 3rd of 23 Oregon counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.

Half the tests came in under 2.4 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 16.1 pCi/L. Below the action level, 17 tests (42.5%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 51.9% statewide, and 8 tests (20.0%) fell between 2 and 4, against 22.7% statewide.

Zone 2 on EPA's map (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L) and a 37.5% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.

The busiest year on file was 2015, with 29 tests reported; the quietest, 2016, had 3.

Baker County against Oregon, the United States and nearby counties, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Baker County
Baker County4037.5%2.4 pCi/LThis county
Oregon, pooled34 counties, pooled23,95125.4%Not pooled−12.1 points
United States, pooled2,661 counties, pooled2,013,54435.7%Not pooled−1.8 points
Clatsop Countyhighest in the state5540.0%3.0 pCi/L+2.5 points
Deschutes Countylowest in the state1593.8%0.7 pCi/L−33.7 points
Adams County, IDborders it3151.6%4.0 pCi/L+14.1 points
Union County, ORborders it11242.0%3.0 pCi/L+4.5 points
Wallowa County, ORborders it1526.7%1.1 pCi/L−10.8 points
Washington County, IDborders it6720.9%2.1 pCi/L−16.6 points
Malheur County, ORborders it128.3%2.0 pCi/L−29.2 points
Grant County, ORborders it40.0%1.2 pCi/L−37.5 points
Where Baker County's reported results fell, 2008 to 2017, laboratory, beside Oregon and the United States
ResultBaker County testsBaker County shareOregon shareU.S. shareAgainst Oregon
Under 2 pCi/L1742.5%51.9%39.6%−9.4 points
2 to 4 pCi/L820.0%22.7%24.7%−2.7 points
4 pCi/L and above1537.5%25.4%35.7%+12.1 points
Baker County ranked among the 23 Oregon counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Union County1 of 2311242.0%3.0 pCi/L
Clatsop County2 of 235540.0%3.0 pCi/L
Baker County3 of 234037.5%2.4 pCi/L
Columbia County4 of 2321236.8%1.9 pCi/L
Multnomah County5 of 2312,33033.1%2.5 pCi/L
Hood River County6 of 2313330.8%2.3 pCi/L
Yamhill County7 of 2346526.2%1.5 pCi/L
Marion County8 of 231,39426.0%2.0 pCi/L
Polk County9 of 2357525.2%2.0 pCi/L
Clackamas County10 of 233,80218.0%1.4 pCi/L
Lincoln County11 of 233813.2%1.1 pCi/L
Baker County radon tests by year, against Oregon's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestOregon, pooledChange from the row before
2023119.1%1.9 pCi/L8.1 pCi/L18.9%−15.9 points
20221225.0%3.8 pCi/L5.6 pCi/L20.2%Level
2021825.0%1.1 pCi/L5.1 pCi/L16.3%−20.5 points
20201145.5%3.2 pCi/L18.1 pCi/L16.8%+12.2 points
2019933.3%2.2 pCi/L8.7 pCi/L20.2%Level
20181533.3%2.6 pCi/L28.7 pCi/L19.6%−23.8 points
20172157.1%5.0 pCi/L20.2 pCi/L19.2%+23.8 points
2016333.3%2.0 pCi/L5.8 pCi/L21.5%−4.6 points
20152937.9%3.1 pCi/L15.8 pCi/L27.4%+15.7 points
2014922.2%2.1 pCi/L18.4 pCi/L25.1%First on file

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

Baker County, Geology

The ground under Baker County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Baker County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. 95.2% of it lies in the area the map calls Blue Mountains, to which USGS gives a radon index of 9, in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Baker County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Blue MountainsTertiary basalt and andesite, tuffaceous sedimentary rocks, and tuff.Moderate995.2%
Snake River CanyonCenozoic basalt and andesite flows and minor continental sedimentary rocks.Moderate94.8%

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

Baker County beside the ground around it

Baker County has more moderate-potential ground than Oregon as a whole: 100% of its land against 62.3%. Of the 6 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Adams County, ID the most at 15.1%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Baker County, the 6 counties bordering it and Oregon
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Baker CountyZone 2None100%None
Washington County, IDZone 388.1%11.9%None
Union CountyZone 2None100%None
Grant CountyZone 20.5%99.5%None
Adams County, IDZone 384.7%0.3%15.1%
Wallowa CountyZone 3None100%None
Malheur CountyZone 20.2%99.6%0.2%
Oregon36 counties, pooled by land areaVaries37.5%62.3%None

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

Local help

Baker County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Baker County

What Oregon's program says
Email
Radon.program@dhsoha.state.or.us

What it means

Baker County, Questions

Questions about radon in Baker County

Are radon levels high in Baker County?

In 2023, 9.1% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Baker County, Oregon were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.9 pCi/L. Of 23 Oregon counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 2 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 25.4%.

Which counties border Baker County?

Baker County borders 6 counties: Washington County, ID, Union County, OR, Grant County, OR, Adams County, ID, Wallowa County, OR and Malheur County, OR.

Products

Baker County, Products

Testing a home in Baker County

In Baker County, 37.5% of 40 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 25.4% pooled across Oregon. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Baker County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Baker County homes, compared

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Baker County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Baker County

Calculated by Radon411

Baker County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Baker County

Baker County's population has barely moved since 2020: 16,658 residents on July 1, 2025 against 16,728 then, by the Census Bureau's estimates. Spread over its land, that is 5.4 people to the square mile. Baker City alone is home to 10,071 of them, 60.5% of the total. Together its 7 incorporated places hold 70.4% of those residents; the other 29.6% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 40 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 2.4 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Oregon as a whole comes to 5.6.

From Baker City to Unity, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Baker County's.

The cities and towns in Baker County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Baker City10,071−0.6%60.5%
Huntington499−0.2%3.0%
Haines375+0.3%2.3%
Halfway357−0.6%2.1%
Sumpter205−1.0%1.2%
Richland169Level1.0%
Unity44+2.3%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).

Baker County, Homes

Homes in Baker County

Baker County is a place of houses on their own lots: 76% of its 8,687 homes are detached single-family houses, against 63% across Oregon. The homes are older than Oregon's as a whole: half were built before 1967 (1980 for Oregon), and 44% date from before 1960. 73% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Oregon: 63%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Baker County, Oregon, 2019 to 2023
HomesBaker CountyOregon
Housing units8,6871,838,631
Detached houses76%63%
In buildings of 5 or more6%17%
Mobile homes13%8%
Built before 196044%23%
Built since 200012%24%
Middle year built19671980
Owner-occupied73%63%

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