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Radon Levels in Deschutes County, Oregon

EPA puts Deschutes County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and most reported tests there come back low, though 1.7% of 60 (2023) reached 4 pCi/L. 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

    1.7%

    17.2 pts below OR

    Deschutes
    1.7%
    Oregon
    18.9%

    60 tests, 2023

  • Median result

    0.9pCi/L

    Below action level

    Deschutes
    0.9 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2023

  • Tests reported

    60

    6th of 14 by tests

    Deschutes
    60
    Multnomah
    792

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2023

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 3

    Lower potential

    1. 1
    2. 2
    3. Zone 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors

  • Rank in Oregon

    14 of 14

    Lowest quarter

    Deschutes
    1.7%
    Hood River
    39.0%

    By share, of 14 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Deschutes County

Starts at Deschutes County's median, 0.9 pCi/L

0.9pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 0.9 pCi/L

Below 2 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 below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. Deschutes County's median reported result, 2023.

Interpret this reading

The data

Deschutes County, At a glance

Deschutes County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential

is EPA's lowest class, and its forecast for Deschutes County as a whole is an average indoor of less than 2 pCi/L (less than 75 Bq/m³). A low zone clears no address in it: homes above EPA's turn up in all three zones.

USGS geologic potential: Low across 96% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Deschutes County, 2023

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Deschutes County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Deschutes County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
201428.6%
201510.2%
20166.7%
201715.9%
20185.3%
20196.8%
20209.2%
20213.6%
20223.0%
20231.7%

2023: 1.7%. Across these years the share ran from 1.7% to 28.6%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

These are the 60 tests reported to CDC for Deschutes County over 2023, 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: 2023. Measured data period: 2005 to 2023 (every CDC figure on file).

How to read these figures

Deschutes County, Compared

Deschutes County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

Only 1 of 60 radon tests reported for Deschutes County in 2023 reached 4 pCi/L (1.7%). The median result, 0.9 pCi/L, sits below 2, well under EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 55.9 pCi/L.

Across 28 Oregon counties pooled together, 18.9% of tests reached that level, so Deschutes County runs 17.2 points below its state. Against the national pool of 33.4%, the gap is 31.7 points lower. Its place in the state: 14th of 14 Oregon counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.

Zone 3 on EPA's map (predicted average under 2 pCi/L) and a 1.7% share point the same way here. Of 2 neighbours with a figure, all 2 reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L; the spread is 4.9% (Linn County) to 15.5% (Lane County).

Below the action level, 48 tests (80.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 59.5% statewide, and 11 tests (18.3%) fell between 2 and 4, against 21.6% statewide. Over 9 years of annual figures the share fell 8.5 points, from 10.2% in 2015 to 1.7% in 2023; its peak was 15.9% in 2017. USGS geology rates 96% of the county's land low radon potential.

The busiest year on file was 2021, with 140 tests reported; the quietest, 2014, had 28.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Deschutes County against Oregon2015 to 2023, years with 30 or more tests: Deschutes County 10.2% to 1.7%, the state's pooled share 18.9% in 2023.
Deschutes CountyOregon, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Deschutes County against Oregon: data table
YearTestsDeschutes County, at or above 4 pCi/LOregon, pooled
20155910.2%27.4%
2016456.7%21.5%
20174415.9%19.2%
2018955.3%19.6%
2019596.8%20.2%
20201099.2%16.8%
20211403.6%16.3%
2022993.0%20.2%
2023601.7%18.9%
Deschutes County against Oregon, the United States and nearby counties, 2023
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Deschutes County
Deschutes County601.7%0.9 pCi/LThis county
Oregon, pooled28 counties, pooled2,32918.9%Not pooled+17.2 points
United States, pooled642 counties, pooled128,74033.4%Not pooled+31.7 points
Hood River Countyhighest in the state4139.0%2.2 pCi/L+37.3 points
Lincoln Countylowest in the state368.3%1.1 pCi/L+6.6 points
Crook County, ORborders it1100.0%4.8 pCi/L+98.3 points
Lane County, ORborders it5815.5%1.0 pCi/L+13.8 points
Klamath County, ORborders it1315.4%1.4 pCi/L+13.7 points
Linn County, ORborders it414.9%0.8 pCi/L+3.2 points
Where Deschutes County's reported results fell, 2023, beside Oregon and the United States
ResultDeschutes County testsDeschutes County shareOregon shareU.S. shareAgainst Oregon
Under 2 pCi/L4880.0%59.5%41.4%+20.5 points
2 to 4 pCi/L1118.3%21.6%25.2%−3.3 points
4 pCi/L and above11.7%18.9%33.4%−17.2 points
Deschutes County ranked among the 14 Oregon counties with 30 or more tests, by share at or above 4 pCi/L, 2023
CountyRankTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Yamhill County4 of 143321.2%1.6 pCi/L
Jackson County5 of 144916.3%0.7 pCi/L
Marion County6 of 1419416.0%1.4 pCi/L
Clackamas County7 of 1432115.9%1.6 pCi/L
Benton County8 of 143215.6%0.9 pCi/L
Lane County9 of 145815.5%1.0 pCi/L
Washington County10 of 1439611.4%1.3 pCi/L
Polk County11 of 147910.1%1.4 pCi/L
Lincoln County12 of 14368.3%1.1 pCi/L
Linn County13 of 14414.9%0.8 pCi/L
Deschutes County14 of 14601.7%0.9 pCi/L
Deschutes County radon tests by year, against Oregon's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestOregon, pooledChange from the row before
2023601.7%0.9 pCi/L55.9 pCi/L18.9%−1.3 points
2022993.0%0.9 pCi/L4.7 pCi/L20.2%−0.6 points
20211403.6%0.6 pCi/L20.0 pCi/L16.3%−5.6 points
20201099.2%0.7 pCi/L115.1 pCi/L16.8%+2.4 points
2019596.8%0.9 pCi/L10.5 pCi/L20.2%+1.5 points
2018955.3%0.9 pCi/L11.6 pCi/L19.6%−10.6 points
20174415.9%1.2 pCi/L22.8 pCi/L19.2%+9.2 points
2016456.7%0.8 pCi/L9.7 pCi/L21.5%−3.5 points
20155910.2%1.3 pCi/L95.4 pCi/L27.4%−18.4 points
20142828.6%1.5 pCi/L57.0 pCi/L25.1%First on file

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

Deschutes County, Geology

The ground under Deschutes County

Predicted

Most of the ground under Deschutes County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 96.0% of its land is low radon potential, with 4.0% moderate. The map puts 74.9% of Deschutes County in the area it calls High Lava Plains and 21.1% in Cascade Range, with one smaller area beside them. USGS gives both a radon index of 7, in the low band (5 to 8).

USGS's geologic areas under Deschutes County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
High Lava PlainsTertiary and Quaternary basalt flows and Tertiary silicic ash-flow tuff.Low774.9%
Cascade RangeWestern Cascade Range is Tertiary andesite, basalt flows, and pyroclastic rocks. Eastern Cascades are late Tertiary to Quaternary basaltic and andesitic volcanic rocks.Low721.1%
Deschutes Umatilla PlateauTertiary basalt, basaltic breccia, tuffaceous sedimentary rocks and tuff. Elevated uranium in soils.Moderate94.0%

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

Deschutes County beside the ground around it

Oregon as a whole has more moderate-potential ground than Deschutes County: 62.3% of its land, against 4.0% here. Every one of the 7 counties that border it has more moderate-potential ground, Lake County the most at 85.8%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Deschutes County, the 7 counties bordering it and Oregon
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Deschutes CountyZone 396.0%4.0%None
Jefferson CountyZone 214.5%85.5%None
Crook CountyZone 241.4%58.6%None
Linn CountyZone 376.6%23.4%None
Lane CountyZone 389.8%10.0%None
Klamath CountyZone 228.4%71.6%None
Lake CountyZone 214.2%85.8%None
Harney CountyZone 233.6%66.4%None
Oregon36 counties, pooled by land areaVaries37.5%62.3%None

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

Local help

Deschutes County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Deschutes County

Listed radon businesses with an address in Deschutes County:

Listed radon professionals by town: Bend, Redmond

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

What it means

Deschutes County, Questions

Questions about radon in Deschutes County

Are radon levels high in Deschutes County?

In 2023, 1.7% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Deschutes County, Oregon were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 0.9 pCi/L. Of 14 Oregon counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 13 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 18.9%.

Which counties border Deschutes County?

Deschutes County borders 7 counties: Jefferson County, Crook County, Linn County, Lane County, Klamath County, Lake County and Harney County.

Products

Deschutes County, Products

Testing a home in Deschutes County

In Deschutes County, 1.7% of 60 tests reported to CDC in 2023 reached 4 pCi/L, against 18.9% pooled across Oregon. Zone 3 is the lowest label, yet homes at or above 4 pCi/L occur in every zone: a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Deschutes County.

Test kits and monitors3

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Best radon monitors for Deschutes County homes, compared

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Deschutes County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Deschutes County

Calculated by Radon411

Deschutes County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Deschutes County

Deschutes County is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 213,072 residents on July 1, 2025, up 6.8% from 199,461 in 2020. That works out to 71 people per square mile of land. Bend alone is home to 107,342 of them, 50.4% of the total. Together its 4 incorporated places hold 71.0% of those residents; the other 29.0% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 60 tests over 2023, or 0.3 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Oregon as a whole comes to 0.5.

From Bend to La Pine, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Deschutes County's.

The cities and towns in Deschutes County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Bend107,342+7.7%50.4%
Redmond38,547+14.1%18.1%
Sisters2,934−4.6%1.4%
La Pine2,563+2.3%1.2%

4 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).

Deschutes County, Homes

Homes in Deschutes County

Deschutes County is a place of houses on their own lots: 76% of its 97,064 homes are detached single-family houses, against 63% across Oregon. Much of Deschutes County is recent building: 44% of its homes have gone up since 2000 and the middle year built is 1997, against 1980 for Oregon. 71% 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 Deschutes County, Oregon, 2019 to 2023
HomesDeschutes CountyOregon
Housing units97,0641,838,631
Detached houses76%63%
In buildings of 5 or more8%17%
Mobile homes5%8%
Built before 19606%23%
Built since 200044%24%
Middle year built19971980
Owner-occupied71%63%

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