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Radon in Aberdeen, South Dakota

EPA puts Brown County, where Aberdeen is, in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and high results are common there: 71.0% of the 62 radon tests reported to CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) came back 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

How to test this homeFind a certified tester

  • Share at 4+ pCi/L

    71.0%

    12.5 pts above SD

    Brown
    71.0%
    SD
    58.5%

    Brown, 4th of 23 in SD, 2008 to 2017

  • Median result

    5.9pCi/L

    Action level reached

    Brown
    5.9 pCi/L
    EPA
    4.0 pCi/L

    Midpoint of Brown's tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Nearest county

    64.9%

    Codington, 71 miles

    Codington
    64.9%
    Brown
    71.0%

    77 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 1

    Highest potential

    1. Zone 1
    2. 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    Brown, where Aberdeen is

  • Tests reported

    62

    In Brown

    Brown
    62
    Codington
    77

    Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017

Read a result for Aberdeen

Starts at Brown County's median, 5.9 pCi/L

5.9pCi/L

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

EPA’s reading of 5.9 pCi/L

At or above 4 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 at or above 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends fixing a home when the radon level is 4 pCi/L or higher. Brown County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.

Interpret this readingWhat a fix costs

The data

Aberdeen, What is published

What is published for Aberdeen

Information:

Every figure for Aberdeen is a county's

Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Aberdeen it is Brown County's: its EPA zone (Zone 1) and the 62 tests reported to CDC for 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Only a test tells you about one home.

Aberdeen covers 16.5 square miles of land, all of it in Brown County. About 27,961 people live there, 1,693 to the square mile.

Aberdeen, Counties

The county Aberdeen lies in

Measured

Brown County's EPA zone and the figures CDC publishes for it, 2008 to 2017, laboratory.

Brown CountyZone 1Highest predicted potential

71.0%
Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
5.9 pCi/L
Median reported result
62 tests
Tests reported to CDC
None
Yearly figures on file

Brown County ranks 4th of 23 South Dakota counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 12.5 points above the 58.5% pooled across South Dakota's counties, 35.3 points above the national pool of 35.7%.

The counties nearest Aberdeen with a CDC figure for 2008 to 2017, laboratory, measured from the middle of the city: Codington County (71 miles, 64.9% of 77 tests), Beadle County (73 miles, 59.3% of 54 tests) and Grant County (85 miles, 55.1% of 78 tests). Across the 8 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 55.1% to 76.0%; the farthest of them, Brule County, is 124 miles away at 67.6%.

No business in the directory gives Aberdeen as its address; the South Dakota list covers it. South Dakota's other cities with a page of their own: Sioux Falls and Rapid City.

The counties around Aberdeen

By distance from the middle of Aberdeen; counties with 30 or more tests.

Nearest counties to Aberdeen with 30 or more tests
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Codington County71 mi7764.9%5.8 pCi/L
Beadle County73 mi5459.3%4.8 pCi/L
Grant County85 mi7855.1%5.0 pCi/L
Kingsbury County90 mi4468.2%7.4 pCi/L
Hughes County106 mi7170.4%5.7 pCi/L
Brookings County112 mi35668.5%6.6 pCi/L
Lake County119 mi5076.0%8.5 pCi/L
Brule County124 mi3767.6%6.4 pCi/L

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2008 to 2017, laboratory.

Aberdeen, Geology

The ground under Aberdeen

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Aberdeen's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. The map puts 92.5% of Aberdeen in the area it calls Glacial Lake Dakota and 7.5% in Missouri Coteau/James River Lowland/Coteau des Prairies. USGS gives both a radon index of 14, in the high band (12 to 17).

USGS's geologic areas under Aberdeen
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Glacial Lake DakotaSilt and clay glacial lake deposits.High1492.5%
Missouri Coteau/James River Lowland/Coteau des PrairiesGlacial drift derived largely from Cretaceous marine shale.High147.5%

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

Aberdeen beside its county and South Dakota

All of Aberdeen, like all of Brown County, is rated high. Aberdeen has more high-potential ground than South Dakota as a whole: 100% of its land against 56.7%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Aberdeen, the county it lies in and South Dakota
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
AberdeenBy countyNoneNone100%
Brown CountyZone 1NoneNone100%
South Dakota66 counties, pooled by land areaVaries1.0%42.3%56.7%

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

Aberdeen, Homes

Homes in Aberdeen

Of Aberdeen's 13,395 homes, 56% are detached houses, against 62% across Brown County; 30% are in buildings of five or more homes. Half of its homes were built before 1972, close to Brown County's 1974: 36% date from before 1960 and 21% from 2000 or later. 58% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Brown County: 66%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.

Homes in Aberdeen, Brown County, South Dakota, 2019 to 2023
HomesAberdeenBrown CountySouth Dakota
Housing units13,39518,009402,364
Detached houses56%62%67%
In buildings of 5 or more30%23%16%
Mobile homes4%6%8%
Built before 196036%34%29%
Built since 200021%22%28%
Middle year built197219741979
Owner-occupied58%66%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

Aberdeen, Local resources

Local resources for Aberdeen

Who to ask in South Dakota: its radon program, test kits and professionals.

The program's own words on licensing are on the South Dakota page.

What it means

Aberdeen, Questions

Questions about radon in Aberdeen

What radon zone is Aberdeen in?

Aberdeen has no zone of its own: it shares Brown County's, Zone 1, the map's highest class: a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L.

What are radon levels in Aberdeen?

71.0% of the 62 tests reported from Brown County for 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals) were at or above 4 pCi/L, the level at which EPA says to fix a home: high results are ordinary around Aberdeen. The median reported result was 5.9 pCi/L.

Should I test my home in Aberdeen?

Yes. About 44 of the 62 tests reported from Brown County were at or above 4 pCi/L. That is above South Dakota's pooled 58.5%, and ranks Brown County 4th of the 23 South Dakota counties with 30 or more tests. No map says which homes those are. How to test a home.

What ground is Aberdeen built on, as far as radon goes?

92.5% of Aberdeen sits on what USGS's map calls "Glacial Lake Dakota", rated high for radon potential, radon index 14; another 7.5% is "Missouri Coteau/James River Lowland/Coteau des Prairies", in the same class.

Is radon higher in the counties around Aberdeen?

Some are and some are not. Against Brown County's 71.0%, 1 of the 8 nearest counties with a figure report more and 7 less, from Grant County (55.1%, 85 miles off) to Lake County (76.0%, 119 miles off).

The answers use the published figures of Brown County, the county Aberdeen lies in.

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