Short-term kitKidde
442020 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 3 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in McKean County, Pennsylvania
EPA puts McKean County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 19 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2020). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
26.4%
15.3 pts below PA
- McKean
- 26.4%
- PA
- 41.7%
174 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.6pCi/L
Below action level
- McKean
- 1.6 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
174
61st of 67 by tests
- McKean
- 174
- Allegheny
- 19,423
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in PA
65 of 67
Lowest quarter
- McKean
- 26.4%
- Fulton
- 69.7%
By share, of 67 with 30+ tests
Read a result for McKean County
Starts at McKean County's median, 1.6 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.6 pCi/L
Below 2 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is below 2 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says a fix should be considered. McKean County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
McKean County, At a glance
McKean County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
McKean County is a
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 McKean County, 2020
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2014 | 17.6% |
| 2015 | 28.9% |
| 2016 | 28.6% |
| 2017 | 43.9% |
| 2018 | 47.1% |
| 2019 | 19.6% |
| 2020 | 10.5% |
2020: 10.5%. Across these years the share ran from 10.5% to 47.1%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 19 tests were reported to CDC for McKean County over 2020, 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: 2020. Measured data period: 2005 to 2020 (every CDC figure on file).
McKean County, Compared
McKean County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411McKean County's 174 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 1.6 pCi/L and a maximum of 154.3 pCi/L, and 26.4% reached 4 pCi/L. Pennsylvania as a whole (67 Pennsylvania counties, pooled) comes to 41.7%: 15.3 points higher than here.
The newest figure, in 2020, counts only 19 tests (10.5% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 174-test figure.
Among its state's counties it ranks 65th of 67 Pennsylvania counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Fulton County reported the highest share (69.7%) and Philadelphia County the lowest (12.4%).
Below the action level, 96 tests (55.2%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 35.2% statewide, and 32 tests (18.4%) fell between 2 and 4, against 23.0% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2014, with 68 tests reported; the quietest, 2018, had 17.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts McKean County in Zone 2, a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Next door, the shares run from 40.6% in Cattaraugus County, NY to 54.6% in Warren County. Over 5 years of annual figures the share rose 2.0 points, from 17.6% in 2014 to 19.6% in 2019; its peak was 43.9% in 2017.
McKean CountyPennsylvania, pooled
19.6% % of tests31.4% % of tests
| Year | Tests | McKean County, at or above 4 pCi/L | Pennsylvania, pooled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 68 | 17.6% | 36.1% |
| 2015 | 45 | 28.9% | 37.8% |
| 2016 | 63 | 28.6% | 34.4% |
| 2017 | 41 | 43.9% | 35.1% |
| 2019 | 46 | 19.6% | 31.4% |
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
McKean County, State data
Pennsylvania's own radon test data
MeasuredWhat Pennsylvania's own agencies publish about radon tests in McKean County, with their period. These are not CDC's figures and are never added to them.
MeasuredState figures, not CDC's
What Pennsylvania DEP reports for the ZIP codes in McKean County
Pennsylvania DEP publishes its figures by ZIP code, not by county. These are the 19 ZIP codes that lie wholly or partly in McKean County, each with the state's own figures for it. Period: Period not stated by DEP.
| ZIP code | What the state reports |
|---|---|
| 15870 | Basement: average 5.0 pCi/L, 36 tests; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16333 | Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16701 | Basement: average 14.3 pCi/L, 412 tests; First floor: average 1.2 pCi/L, 89 tests |
| 16720 | Basement: average 14.3 pCi/L, 50 tests; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16724 | Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16726 | Basement: figures not shown |
| 16727 | Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16729 | Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16731 | Basement: figures not shown |
| 16732 | Basement: figures not shown |
| 16735 | Basement: average 9.2 pCi/L, 206 tests; First floor: average 6.5 pCi/L, 31 tests |
| 16738 | Basement: average 11.3 pCi/L, 35 tests; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16740 | Basement: figures not shown |
| 16743 | Basement: average 7.9 pCi/L, 66 tests; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16744 | Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16745 | Basement: figures not shown; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16748 | Basement: average 13.1 pCi/L, 84 tests; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16749 | Basement: average 4.7 pCi/L, 89 tests; First floor: figures not shown |
| 16750 | Basement: figures not shown |
- DEP's report gives the number of tests, the highest result and the average result for each floor tested; it states no period.
- DEP says the smartest thing to do is to test your home for radon, no matter where you live.
- A ZIP code that crosses the county line is listed whole; its figures cover all of it.
Measured: Pennsylvania DEP data, Period not stated by DEP.
McKean County, Geology
The ground under McKean County
PredictedMost of the ground under McKean County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 99.8% of its land is moderate radon potential, with 0.2% high. All of it lies in the area the map calls High Plateau, to which USGS gives a radon index of 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Plateau | Marine and continental Devonian-Pennsylvanian shale, sandstone, limestone, siltstone, and coal. | Moderate | 10 | 99.8% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
McKean County beside the ground around it
Pennsylvania as a whole has more high-potential ground than McKean County: 70.4% of its land, against 0.2% here. Every one of the 6 counties that border it has more high-potential ground, Allegany County, NY the most at 99.5%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
McKean County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in McKean County
- Radon DivisionRadon Division, run by Department of Environmental Protection, licenses or certifies radon professionals and offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Pennsylvania.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
Through an EPA-funded program, hospitals give parents of newborn children a packet of information which includes a coupon for a free radon test kit from the DEP.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Pennsylvania151 professionals are listed in Pennsylvania.
What Pennsylvania's program says
- Phone
- 800-237-2366
- Licensing of radon professionals
The Radon Certification Act requires DEP to establish by regulation, a certification program for persons conducting radon gas and radon progeny testing, laboratory analysis and mitigation of radon contamination in buildings.
What it means
McKean County, Questions
Questions about radon in McKean County
Are radon levels high in McKean County?
In 2020, 10.5% of the radon tests reported to CDC for McKean County, Pennsylvania were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.7 pCi/L. Of 67 Pennsylvania counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 64 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 41.7%.
Which counties border McKean County?
McKean County borders 6 counties: Elk County, PA, Cameron County, PA, Cattaraugus County, NY, Potter County, PA, Warren County, PA and Allegany County, NY.
Products
McKean County, Products
Testing a home in McKean County
In McKean County, 26.4% of 174 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 41.7% pooled across Pennsylvania. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in McKean County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
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
Monitor
View Radon Wi-Fi radon monitor with an e-paper display
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Battery
- Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
- Screen, app
Method: Alpha spectrometry
Readings: Every 60 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
McKean County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering McKean County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Warren County, PAEPA zone 2
54.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.4 pCi/L · 412 tests · 28.2 points above McKean County
- Radon levels in Potter County, PAEPA zone 2
52.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.4 pCi/L · 167 tests · 25.7 points above McKean County
- Radon levels in Elk County, PAEPA zone 2
49.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.9 pCi/L · 372 tests · 23.1 points above McKean County
- Radon levels in Cameron County, PAEPA zone 1
44.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.4 pCi/L · 93 tests · 17.7 points above McKean County
- Radon levels in Allegany County, NYEPA zone 1
42.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.9 pCi/L · 383 tests · 16.2 points above McKean County
- Radon levels in Cattaraugus County, NYEPA zone 1
40.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.0 pCi/L · 599 tests · 14.2 points above McKean County
McKean County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in McKean County
About 38,984 people live in McKean County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 1,421 fewer than in 2020 (−3.5%). That works out to 40 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Bradford, the largest, has 7,442 residents, 19.1% of the total. Together its 7 incorporated places hold 42.1% of those residents; the other 57.9% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 174 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 4.5 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Pennsylvania as a whole comes to 15.5.
From Bradford to Lewis Run, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads McKean County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bradford | 7,442 | −5.0% | 19.1% |
| Kane | 3,463 | −5.0% | 8.9% |
| Port Allegany | 2,031 | −4.9% | 5.2% |
| Smethport | 1,359 | −4.3% | 3.5% |
| Mount Jewett | 828 | −2.8% | 2.1% |
| Eldred | 720 | −5.3% | 1.8% |
| Lewis Run | 550 | −5.0% | 1.4% |
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).
McKean County, Homes
Homes in McKean County
McKean County is a place of houses on their own lots: 80% of its 19,493 homes are detached single-family houses, against 57% across Pennsylvania. The homes are older than Pennsylvania's as a whole: half were built before 1952 (1965 for Pennsylvania), and 60% date from before 1960. Owners live in 79% of the occupied homes (Pennsylvania: 69%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | McKean County | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 19,493 | 5,779,663 |
| Detached houses | 80% | 57% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 4% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 9% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 60% | 45% |
| Built since 2000 | 6% | 14% |
| Middle year built | 1952 | 1965 |
| Owner-occupied | 79% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.