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Radon Levels in Providence County, Rhode Island

EPA puts Providence County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and most reported tests there come back low, though 1.9% of 108 (2018) 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

    1.9%

    0.0 pts above RI

    Providence
    1.9%
    RI
    1.9%

    108 tests, 2018

  • Median result

    0.6pCi/L

    Below action level

    Providence
    0.6 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of the tests, 2018

  • Tests reported

    108

    Most tested in RI

    Providence
    108

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2018

  • 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 RI

    1 of 2

    Top quarter

    Providence
    1.9%
    Providence
    1.9%

    By share, of 2 with 30+ tests

Read a result for Providence County

Starts at Providence County's median, 0.6 pCi/L

0.6pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 0.6 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. Providence County's median reported result, 2018.

Interpret this reading

The data

Providence County, At a glance

Providence County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Providence 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 60% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Providence County, 2018

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Providence County
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L, by year, Providence County
YearShare of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
20142.0%
20150.0%
20160.5%
20172.6%
20181.9%

2018: 1.9%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 2.6%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.

What these figures count

These are the 108 tests reported to CDC for Providence County over 2018, 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: 2018. Measured data period: 2005 to 2018 (every CDC figure on file).

How to read these figures

Providence County, Compared

Providence County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

Only 2 of 108 radon tests reported for Providence County in 2018 reached 4 pCi/L (1.9%). The median result, 0.6 pCi/L, sits below 2, well under EPA's 4 pCi/L action level, and the top reported result was 6.3 pCi/L.

Pooled across 5 Rhode Island counties, the share is the same 1.9%. Against the national pool of 29.1%, the gap is 27.2 points lower. Its place in the state: 1st of 2 Rhode Island counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.

The reported tests do not follow EPA's Zone 2 label for Providence County (predicted average between 2 and 4 pCi/L): 1.9% of them reached 4 pCi/L, fewer than that label suggests. Windham County, CT, the one bordering county with a figure for the same period, reported 67.2%.

Below the action level, 97 tests (89.8%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 88.2% statewide, and 9 tests (8.3%) fell between 2 and 4, against 9.9% statewide. Over 5 years of annual figures the share held within 2 points, from 2.0% in 2014 to 1.9% in 2018; its peak was 2.6% in 2017. USGS geology rates 60% of the county's land moderate radon potential.

The busiest year on file was 2014, with 353 tests reported; the quietest, 2015, had 50.

Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Providence County against Rhode Island2014 to 2018, years with 30 or more tests: Providence County 2.0% to 1.9%, the state's pooled share 1.9% in 2018.
Providence CountyRhode Island, pooled
Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L by year, Providence County against Rhode Island: data table
YearTestsProvidence County, at or above 4 pCi/LRhode Island, pooled
20143532.0%2.4%
2015500.0%0.0%
20162000.5%0.9%
20173432.6%3.2%
20181081.9%1.9%
Providence County against Rhode Island, the United States and nearby counties, 2018
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianDifference from Providence County
Providence County1081.9%0.6 pCi/LThis county
Rhode Island, pooled5 counties, pooled2121.9%Not pooledLevel
United States, pooled773 counties, pooled389,55129.1%Not pooled+27.2 points
Washington Countyhighest in the state901.1%0.9 pCi/L−0.8 points
Windham County, CTborders it5867.2%4.8 pCi/L+65.3 points
Kent County, RIborders it1010.0%0.8 pCi/L+8.1 points
Bristol County, RIborders it10.0%1.3 pCi/L−1.9 points
Where Providence County's reported results fell, 2018, beside Rhode Island and the United States
ResultProvidence County testsProvidence County shareRhode Island shareU.S. shareAgainst Rhode Island
Under 2 pCi/L9789.8%88.2%48.3%+1.6 points
2 to 4 pCi/L98.3%9.9%22.6%−1.6 points
4 pCi/L and above21.9%1.9%29.1%Level
Providence County radon tests by year, against Rhode Island's pooled share
YearTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestRhode Island, pooledChange from the row before
20181081.9%0.6 pCi/L6.3 pCi/L1.9%−0.7 points
20173432.6%0.6 pCi/L11.1 pCi/L3.2%+2.1 points
20162000.5%0.4 pCi/L5.2 pCi/L0.9%+0.5 points
2015500.0%0.5 pCi/L2.9 pCi/L0.0%−2.0 points
20143532.0%0.4 pCi/L12.5 pCi/L2.4%First on file

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

Providence County, Geology

The ground under Providence County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map splits Providence County: 59.6% of its land is moderate radon potential and 18.4% high and 21.1% low. The map puts 59.5% of Providence County in the area it calls Esmond-Dedham Subterrane and 17.9% in Narragansett Bay Group, with 4 smaller areas beside them. USGS gives the first a radon index of 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11), and the second 8, in the low band (5 to 8).

USGS's geologic areas under Providence County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Esmond-Dedham SubterraneEsmond granite, including fine-grained granite, granite, granodiorite, augen granite gneiss, granite gneiss, schist, amphibolite, and quartzite.Moderate1159.5%
Narragansett Bay GroupSandstone, shale, and conglomerate with minor coal layers. Outwash sand and glacial lake deposits.Low817.9%
Scituate Igneous SuiteFine grained granite, alkali-feldspar granite, and granite.High1516.9%
Narrangansett Bay GroupMetaclastic rock, conglomerate, sandstone, and shale.Low82.2%
Hope Valley Igneous SuiteGranite gneiss and alaskite gneiss.High151.1%
Esmond-Dedham SubterraneMica schist and granite.Low81.1%

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

Providence County beside the ground around it

Rhode Island as a whole has more high-potential ground than Providence County: 43.2% of its land, against 18.4% here. Of the 6 counties that border it, 3 have more high-potential ground, Worcester County, MA the most at 85.4%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Providence County, the 6 counties bordering it and Rhode Island
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Providence CountyZone 221.1%59.6%18.4%
Kent CountyZone 120.0%4.2%75.5%
Bristol CountyZone 383.3%0.5%None
Bristol County, MAZone 20.1%96.2%None
Windham County, CTZone 2None81.2%18.8%
Norfolk County, MAZone 211.6%80.3%7.0%
Worcester County, MAZone 1None14.6%85.4%
Rhode Island5 counties, pooled by land areaVaries17.7%37.3%43.2%

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

Local help

Providence County, Local resources

Radon testing and mitigation in Providence County

What Rhode Island's program says
Licensing of radon professionals
This page lists Radon Testing businesses that are licensed by the Rhode Island Department of Health.

What it means

Providence County, Questions

Questions about radon in Providence County

Are radon levels high in Providence County?

In 2018, 1.9% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Providence County, Rhode Island were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 0.6 pCi/L. Of 2 Rhode Island counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, none reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 1.9%.

Which counties border Providence County?

Providence County borders 6 counties: Kent County, RI, Bristol County, RI, Bristol County, MA, Windham County, CT, Norfolk County, MA and Worcester County, MA.

Products

Providence County, Products

Testing a home in Providence County

In Providence County, 1.9% of 108 tests reported to CDC in 2018 reached 4 pCi/L, against 1.9% pooled across Rhode Island. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Providence County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Providence County homes, compared

Explore

Providence County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Providence County

Calculated by Radon411

Providence County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Providence County

The Census Bureau estimates 678,179 residents in Providence County for July 1, 2025, 18,165 more than in 2020 (+2.8%). Packed into its land, that is 1,656 people per square mile. Its largest town, Providence, has 195,310 residents, 28.8% of the total. Together its 6 incorporated places hold 69.7% of those residents; the other 30.3% live outside any of them. CDC's 108 reported tests for 2018 work out to 0.2 per 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), close to Rhode Island's 0.2.

From Providence to Central Falls, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Providence County's.

The cities and towns in Providence County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Providence195,310+2.4%28.8%
Cranston84,647+2.2%12.5%
Pawtucket77,065+2.1%11.4%
East Providence48,249+2.6%7.1%
Woonsocket44,580+3.3%6.6%
Central Falls23,124+2.5%3.4%

6 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).

Providence County, Homes

Homes in Providence County

Fewer than six in ten of Providence County's 277,117 homes are detached houses (45%, against 55% across Rhode Island); the rest are attached, in shared buildings or mobile. Half of its homes were built before 1956, close to Rhode Island's 1961: 55% date from before 1960 and 8% from 2000 or later. 57% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Rhode Island: 63%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Providence County, Rhode Island, 2019 to 2023
HomesProvidence CountyRhode Island
Housing units277,117484,615
Detached houses45%55%
In buildings of 5 or more20%17%
Mobile homesunder 1%1%
Built before 196055%49%
Built since 20008%10%
Middle year built19561961
Owner-occupied57%63%

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