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 Mellette County, South Dakota
EPA puts Mellette County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Nearest county
66.7%
Hughes County, 68 miles
- Hughes
- 66.7%
- SD
- 58.8%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 30 tests, 2006 to 2015
Ground above low
100.0%
1.0 pts above SD
- Mellette
- 100.0%
- SD
- 99.0%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
0
None published
A home here needs its own test
EPA radon zone
Zone 2
Moderate potential
- 1
- Zone 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for Mellette County
Starts at EPA's action level
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 4.0 pCi/L
At or above 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 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.
The data
Mellette County, At a glance
Mellette County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential
Mellette 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
No CDC test figures here
CDC has published no radon test figures for Mellette County. Hughes County, 68 miles away, is the nearest county with a figure over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals.
Mellette County, Compared
Mellette County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's county radon counts over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals cover 63 South Dakota counties, and Mellette County is not among them: no year's figure and no ten-year laboratory total names it. Pooled across 63 South Dakota counties, 58.8% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 36.3%.
The nearest counties with a figure are Hughes County (68 miles away) at 66.7%, Brule County (85 miles away) at 62.5% and Pennington County (107 miles away) at 51.8%. Statewide for the same period, Bon Homme County reported the highest share (79.5%) and Davison County the lowest (47.9%).
EPA's 1993 map puts Mellette County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Mellette County, Geology
The ground under Mellette County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Mellette County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. The map puts 69.5% of Mellette County in the area it calls Pierre Hills and 30.5% in Southern Plateaus. USGS gives the first a radon index of 10 and the second 11, both in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre Hills | Pierre Shale and Fox Hills sandstone. | Moderate | 10 | 69.5% |
| Southern Plateaus | Late Tertiary continental sandstone. | Moderate | 11 | 30.5% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Mellette County beside the ground around it
Across South Dakota 56.7% of the land is rated high; none of Mellette County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, 3 have more high-potential ground, Lyman County the most at 55.7%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Mellette County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Mellette County
- South Dakota's radon programDepartment of Agriculture and Natural ResourcesSouth Dakota's radon program offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in South Dakota.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) will provide 500 free Radon test kits to South Dakota Residents.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in South Dakota5 professionals are listed in South Dakota.
What South Dakota's program says
- Phone
- 1-800-438-3367
What it means
Mellette County, Questions
Questions about radon in Mellette County
Are radon levels high in Mellette County?
No CDC testing statistics are published here for Mellette County, South Dakota yet. Of the 8 nearest counties with a figure, within 148 miles, the share of tests at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 47.9% to 68.3%.
Which counties border Mellette County?
Mellette County borders 6 counties: Todd County, Jones County, Jackson County, Lyman County, Tripp County and Bennett County.
Products
Mellette County, Products
Testing a home in Mellette County
No CDC figure names Mellette County; the nearest county with one, Hughes County (68 miles away), reported 66.7% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2006 to 2015 laboratory totals, the only reading nearby until a test of this home. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Mellette 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
MonitorAranet
Radon Plus battery digital radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Approved
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- Alarm
- Screen, app
Method: Ion chamber
First reading: Within 10 minutes
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Mellette County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Mellette County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Jones CountyEPA zone 2
100.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 26.4 pCi/L · 5 tests
- Radon levels in Lyman CountyEPA zone 1
100.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 20.0 pCi/L · 5 tests
- Radon levels in Tripp CountyEPA zone 2
57.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 4.2 pCi/L · 7 tests
- Radon levels in Bennett CountyEPA zone 2
33.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 3.0 pCi/L · 3 tests
- Radon levels in Jackson CountyEPA zone 2
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.1 pCi/L · 1 test
- Radon levels in Todd CountyEPA zone 2
No CDC figure for 2006 to 2015; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Mellette County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Mellette County
Mellette County is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 2,137 residents on July 1, 2025, up 11.5% from 1,917 in 2020. Spread over its land, that is 1.6 people to the square mile. Its largest town, White River, has 588 residents, 27.5% of the total. Together its 2 incorporated places hold 29.8% of those residents; the other 70.2% live outside any of them. CDC publishes no radon test count for Mellette County; across South Dakota its counts for 2006 to 2015 come to 5.2 tests for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate).
From White River to Wood, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Mellette County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| White River | 588 | +9.5% | 27.5% |
| Wood | 48 | +14.3% | 2.2% |
2 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).
Mellette County, Homes
Homes in Mellette County
Of Mellette County's 779 homes, 69% are detached houses, against 67% across South Dakota; 27% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1972, close to South Dakota's 1979: 27% date from before 1960 and 15% from 2000 or later. 60% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (South Dakota: 69%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Mellette County | South Dakota |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 779 | 402,364 |
| Detached houses | 69% | 67% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 1% | 16% |
| Mobile homes | 27% | 8% |
| Built before 1960 | 27% | 29% |
| Built since 2000 | 15% | 28% |
| Middle year built | 1972 | 1979 |
| Owner-occupied | 60% | 69% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.