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Locations and reports
Radon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
EPA puts Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is, in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 30.5% of its 8,337 reported radon tests (2020) were 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
30.5%
0.2 pts above PA
- Allegheny
- 30.5%
- PA
- 30.3%
Allegheny, 49th of 63 in PA, 2020
Median result
2.5pCi/L
Below action level
- Allegheny
- 2.5 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of Allegheny's tests, 2020
Nearest county
33.6%
Washington, 22 miles
- Washington
- 33.6%
- Allegheny
- 30.5%
1,227 tests, 2020
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
Allegheny, where Pittsburgh is
Tests reported
8,337
In Allegheny
- Allegheny
- 8,337
- Washington
- 1,227
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2020
Read a result for Pittsburgh
Starts at Allegheny County's median, 2.5 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 2.5 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. Allegheny County's median reported result, 2020.
The data
Pittsburgh, What is published
What is published for Pittsburgh
Information:
Every figure for Pittsburgh is a county's
Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Pittsburgh it is Allegheny County's: its EPA zone (Zone 1) and the 8,337 tests reported to CDC for 2020. Only a test tells you about one home.
Pittsburgh covers 55.4 square miles of land, all of it in Allegheny County. Its 307,632 residents live 5,555 to the square mile.
Pittsburgh, Counties
The county Pittsburgh lies in
MeasuredAllegheny County's EPA zone and the figures CDC publishes for it, 2020.
Allegheny CountyZone 1Highest predicted potential
- 30.5%
- Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
- 2.5 pCi/L
- Median reported result
- 8,337 tests
- Tests reported to CDC
- 7
- Annual years on file
Allegheny County ranks 49th of 63 Pennsylvania counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 0.2 points above the 30.3% pooled across Pennsylvania's counties, 5.0 points above the national pool of 25.5%.
The counties nearest Pittsburgh with a CDC figure for 2020, measured from the middle of the city: Washington County (22 miles, 33.6% of 1,227 tests), Beaver County (26 miles, 42.4% of 868 tests) and Westmoreland County (28 miles, 34.9% of 1,588 tests). Across the 8 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 17.4% to 47.6%; the farthest of them, Greene County, is 42 miles away at 20.0%.
The directory lists 9 businesses with an address in Pittsburgh, 7 for testing and 2 for mitigation. Pennsylvania's other cities with a page of their own: Allentown, Scranton, Harrisburg and Malvern.
The counties around Pittsburgh
By distance from the middle of Pittsburgh; counties with 30 or more tests.
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2020.
Pittsburgh, Geology
The ground under Pittsburgh
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Pittsburgh's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Pennsylvanian Rocks of the Pittsburgh Low Plateau, to which USGS gives a radon index of 14, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvanian Rocks of the Pittsburgh Low Plateau | Pennsylvanian marine shale, siltstone, sandstone, limestone, and coal. | High | 14 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Pittsburgh beside its county and Pennsylvania
All of Pittsburgh, like all of Allegheny County, is rated high. Pittsburgh has more high-potential ground than Pennsylvania as a whole: 100% of its land against 70.4%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Pittsburgh, Homes
Homes in Pittsburgh
Fewer than six in ten of Pittsburgh's 159,667 homes are detached houses (44%, against 62% across Allegheny County); the rest are attached, in shared buildings or mobile. The homes are older than Allegheny County's as a whole: half were built before 1942 (1957 for Allegheny County), and 69% date from before 1960. Most occupied homes here are rented: owners live in 47% (Allegheny County: 65%). A tenant can run a test; a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Pittsburgh | Allegheny County | Pennsylvania |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 159,667 | 604,558 | 5,779,663 |
| Detached houses | 44% | 62% | 57% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 27% | 19% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | under 1% | 1% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 69% | 55% | 45% |
| Built since 2000 | 9% | 10% | 14% |
| Middle year built | 1942 | 1957 | 1965 |
| Owner-occupied | 47% | 65% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.
Local help
Pittsburgh, Professionals
Radon professionals listed in Pittsburgh
Businesses whose listed city is Pittsburgh, from the state registries and listings in the Radon411 directory, with the same business and certification status the directory shows.
Radon professionals listed in Pittsburgh: 1 of 6
9 listings with Pittsburgh as the city. See radon mitigation and testing in Pittsburgh, or all radon professionals in Pennsylvania.
Pittsburgh, Local resources
Local resources for Pittsburgh
Who to ask in Pennsylvania: its radon program, test kits and professionals.
- Radon DivisionRun by Department of Environmental Protection, phone 800-237-2366.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 Pennsylvania9 listings cover Pittsburgh.
The program's own words on licensing are on the Pennsylvania page.
What it means
Pittsburgh, Questions
Questions about radon in Pittsburgh
What radon zone is Pittsburgh in?
EPA's map puts Allegheny County, and with it Pittsburgh, in Zone 1, the map's highest class: a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L.
What are radon levels in Pittsburgh?
A high result is no surprise around Pittsburgh: 30.5% of 8,337 tests reported from Allegheny County for 2020 reached 4 pCi/L or more. The median reported result was 2.5 pCi/L.
Should I test my home in Pittsburgh?
Yes. About 2,543 of the 8,337 tests reported from Allegheny County were at or above 4 pCi/L. That is about what Pennsylvania as a whole reports (30.3%), and ranks Allegheny County 49th of the 63 Pennsylvania counties with 30 or more tests. No map says which homes those are. How to test a home.
What ground is Pittsburgh built on, as far as radon goes?
USGS's geologic map puts all of Pittsburgh on one named area, "Pennsylvanian Rocks of the Pittsburgh Low Plateau", rated high for radon potential, radon index 14.
Is radon higher in the counties around Pittsburgh?
Some are and some are not. Against Allegheny County's 30.5%, 6 of the 8 nearest counties with a figure report more and 2 less, from Fayette County (17.4%, 40 miles off) to Armstrong County (47.6%, 37 miles off).
Who tests for or fixes radon in Pittsburgh?
Radon411's directory has 9 businesses with an address in Pittsburgh, 7 listed for testing and 2 for mitigation. Every entry names the public list it was taken from. Radon professionals in Pittsburgh.
The answers use the published figures of Allegheny County, the county Pittsburgh lies in.
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