Short-term kit
PicoCan short-term charcoal canister radon test
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Pickens County, South Carolina
EPA puts Pickens County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and 23.6% of its 1,717 reported radon tests (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) 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
23.6%
4.2 pts above SC
- Pickens
- 23.6%
- SC
- 19.4%
1,717 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.8pCi/L
Below action level
- Pickens
- 1.8 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
1,717
5th of 24 by tests
- Pickens
- 1,717
- Greenville
- 12,004
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 SC
2 of 24
Top quarter
- Pickens
- 23.6%
- Oconee
- 42.6%
By share, of 24 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Pickens County
Starts at Pickens County's median, 1.8 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.8 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. Pickens County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Pickens County, At a glance
Pickens County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Pickens 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 Pickens County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 53%2 to 4 pCi/L: 23%4 pCi/L and above: 24%
Of 1,717 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 910 | 53.0% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 402 | 23.4% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 405 | 23.6% |
What these figures count
These are the 1,717 tests reported to CDC for Pickens County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), 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: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Pickens County, Compared
Pickens County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Pickens County's 1,717 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 1.8 pCi/L and a maximum of 129.0 pCi/L, and 23.6% reached 4 pCi/L. South Carolina as a whole (46 South Carolina counties, pooled) comes to 19.4%: 4.2 points lower than here.
Among its state's counties it ranks 2nd of 24 South Carolina counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Oconee County reported the highest share (42.6%) and Florence County the lowest (0.0%).
Below the action level, 910 tests (53.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 57.4% statewide, and 402 tests (23.4%) fell between 2 and 4, against 23.1% statewide. CDC's ten-year totals for Pickens County went from 1,352 tests (2005 to 2014) to 1,717 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 23.3% to 23.6%.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Pickens 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 11.1% in Anderson County to 47.8% in Transylvania County, NC, with Greenville County and Anderson County below Pickens County.
CDC also counts 31 tests taken after mitigation in Pickens County for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Pickens County, Geology
The ground under Pickens County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Pickens County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Inner Piedmont Belt, to which USGS gives a radon index of 11, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inner Piedmont Belt | Proterozoic through Cambrian biotite gneiss and schist, and mica schist. | Moderate | 11 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Pickens County beside the ground around it
Across South Carolina 0.2% of the land is rated high; none of Pickens County's is. Of the 4 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Transylvania County, NC the most at 52.0%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Pickens County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Pickens County
- South Carolina Radon ProgramSouth Carolina Radon Program, run by South Carolina Department of Environmental Services, offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in South Carolina.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
The South Carolina Radon Program offers free short-term radon test kits to South Carolina homeowners, subject to availability.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in South Carolina2 professionals are listed in South Carolina.
What South Carolina's program says
- Phone
- 1-800-768-0362
- radon@des.sc.gov
What it means
Pickens County, Questions
Questions about radon in Pickens County
Are radon levels high in Pickens County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 23.6% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Pickens County, South Carolina were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.8 pCi/L. Of 24 South Carolina counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 1 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 19.4%.
Which counties border Pickens County?
Pickens County borders 4 counties: Greenville County, SC, Anderson County, SC, Oconee County, SC and Transylvania County, NC.
Products
Pickens County, Products
Testing a home in Pickens County
In Pickens County, 23.6% of 1,717 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 19.4% pooled across South Carolina. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Pickens 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
RM-65 rechargeable radon detector with a color screen and alarm
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
Method: Semiconductor sensor
First reading: Within 6 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Pickens County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Pickens County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Transylvania County, NCEPA zone 1
47.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.7 pCi/L · 3,862 tests · 24.2 points above Pickens County
- Radon levels in Oconee County, SCEPA zone 2
42.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.3 pCi/L · 2,469 tests · 19.0 points above Pickens County
- Radon levels in Greenville County, SCEPA zone 1
19.6%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.7 pCi/L · 12,004 tests · 4.0 points below Pickens County
- Radon levels in Anderson County, SCEPA zone 2
11.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.1 pCi/L · 1,733 tests · 12.5 points below Pickens County
Pickens County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Pickens County
Pickens County is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 139,198 residents on July 1, 2025, up 5.7% from 131,698 in 2020. That works out to 280 people per square mile of land. Easley, the largest place on its list (27,319 residents in all), extends beyond Pickens County, so no share of the total is worked out for it. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 1,717 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 come to 12.3 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 4.8 for South Carolina.
From Easley to Norris, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Pickens County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easleyextends beyond Pickens County | 27,319 | +18.6% | Counted whole |
| Clemsonextends beyond Pickens County | 18,941 | +6.7% | Counted whole |
| Central | 5,298 | Level | 3.8% |
| Pendletonextends beyond Pickens County | 3,739 | +6.9% | Counted whole |
| Liberty | 3,344 | −1.4% | 2.4% |
| Pickens | 3,188 | +1.4% | 2.3% |
| Six Mile | 770 | +1.4% | 0.6% |
| Norris | 761 | +1.9% | 0.5% |
8 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). A place that extends beyond Pickens County is counted whole, so it has no share.
Pickens County, Homes
Homes in Pickens County
Of Pickens County's 57,695 homes, 62% are detached houses, against 64% across South Carolina; 18% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1989, close to South Carolina's 1991: 13% date from before 1960 and 27% from 2000 or later. 71% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (South Carolina: 71%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Pickens County | South Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 57,695 | 2,401,638 |
| Detached houses | 62% | 64% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 12% | 13% |
| Mobile homes | 18% | 15% |
| Built before 1960 | 13% | 13% |
| Built since 2000 | 27% | 35% |
| Middle year built | 1989 | 1991 |
| Owner-occupied | 71% | 71% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.