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
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Bedford County, Tennessee
EPA puts Bedford County in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and only 2 radon tests from it are on file with CDC (2023). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
21.0%
12.3 pts below TN
- Bedford
- 21.0%
- Tennessee
- 33.3%
124 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.8pCi/L
Below action level
- Bedford
- 1.8 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
124
42nd of 80 by tests
- Bedford
- 124
- Davidson
- 5,592
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts over 4 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Tennessee
54 of 80
Middle half
- Bedford
- 21.0%
- Jefferson
- 56.8%
By share, of 80 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Bedford County
Starts at Bedford 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. Bedford County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Bedford County, At a glance
Bedford County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Bedford County in
USGS geologic potential: High across 98% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Bedford County, 2023
| Year | Share of reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.0% |
2023: 0.0%. Across these years the share ran from 0.0% to 0.0%. Each column counts radon tests reported to CDC that year, not homes.
What these figures count
Only 2 tests were reported to CDC for Bedford County over 2023, and tests are often run on homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: so few describe neither the county nor this house.
Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2023. Measured data period: 2005 to 2023 (every CDC figure on file).
Bedford County, Compared
Bedford County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Bedford County's 124 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals had a middle value of 1.8 pCi/L and a maximum of 11.7 pCi/L, and 21.0% reached 4 pCi/L. Tennessee as a whole (95 Tennessee counties, pooled) comes to 33.3%: 12.3 points higher than here.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 2 tests (0.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 124-test figure.
Among its state's counties it ranks 54th of 80 Tennessee counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Statewide for the same period, Jefferson County reported the highest share (56.8%) and Chester County the lowest (0.0%).
Below the action level, 67 tests (54.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 42.4% statewide, and 31 tests (25.0%) fell between 2 and 4, against 24.3% statewide. The busiest year on file was 2022, with 24 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 2.
EPA's 1993 zone map puts Bedford County in Zone 1, a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 98% of the county's land high radon potential.
Next door, the shares run from 15.3% in Rutherford County to 35.3% in Moore County, with Lincoln County, Marshall County and Coffee County below Bedford County.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Bedford County, Geology
The ground under Bedford County
PredictedMost of the ground under Bedford County is one class on USGS's geologic map: 97.8% of its land is high radon potential, with 2.2% moderate. 97.8% of it lies in the area the map calls Nashville Basin, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville Basin | Mississippian Limestone. | High | 14 | 97.8% |
| Highland Rim | Paleozoic sedimentary rocks (limestone, shale, chert, and dolostone). | Moderate | 11 | 2.2% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Bedford County beside the ground around it
Bedford County has more high-potential ground than Tennessee as a whole: 97.8% of its land against 47.2%. Of the 5 counties that border it, 2 have more high-potential ground, Marshall County the most at 100%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Bedford County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Bedford County
- Tennessee Radon ProgramTennessee Radon Program, run by Department of Environment & Conservation, offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Tennessee.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
The Tennessee Radon Program provides free radon test kits and information assistance to residents, while also providing training opportunities to radon professionals across the state.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Tennessee1 professional is listed in Tennessee.
What Tennessee's program says
- Phone
- 1-800-232-1139
- TDEC.Radon@tn.gov
What it means
Bedford County, Questions
Questions about radon in Bedford County
Are radon levels high in Bedford County?
In 2023, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Bedford County, Tennessee were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.4 pCi/L. Of 80 Tennessee counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 53 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 33.3%.
Which counties border Bedford County?
Bedford County borders 5 counties: Marshall County, Moore County, Rutherford County, Coffee County and Lincoln County.
Products
Bedford County, Products
Testing a home in Bedford County
In Bedford County, 21.0% of 124 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 33.3% pooled across Tennessee. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Bedford County is the one to know: a long-term test (more than 90 days) or a monitor, with a short-term kit for a first answer.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Monitor
Hello Radon C battery radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Screen
Method: Alpha spectrometry
First reading: Within 24 hours
Short-term kitFirst Alert
RD1 short-term charcoal radon test kit
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 2 to 4 days
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Bedford County is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Bedford County
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Bedford County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Bedford County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Moore CountyEPA zone 1
35.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.9 pCi/L · 51 tests · 14.3 points above Bedford County
- Radon levels in Lincoln CountyEPA zone 1
20.8%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 149 tests · 0.2 points below Bedford County
- Radon levels in Marshall CountyEPA zone 1
18.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.6 pCi/L · 138 tests · 2.9 points below Bedford County
- Radon levels in Coffee CountyEPA zone 2
16.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.3 pCi/L · 206 tests · 4.5 points below Bedford County
- Radon levels in Rutherford CountyEPA zone 1
15.3%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.5 pCi/L · 1,200 tests · 5.7 points below Bedford County
Bedford County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Bedford County
Bedford County is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 55,273 residents on July 1, 2025, up 9.7% from 50,381 in 2020. That works out to 117 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Shelbyville, has 26,146 residents, 47.3% of the total. Together its 4 incorporated places hold 49.5% of those residents; the other 50.5% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 124 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 2.2 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Tennessee as a whole comes to 4.2.
From Shelbyville to Normandy, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Bedford County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shelbyville | 26,146 | +10.7% | 47.3% |
| Wartrace | 667 | +1.1% | 1.2% |
| Bell Buckle | 419 | +1.9% | 0.8% |
| Normandy | 109 | +0.9% | 0.2% |
4 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).
Bedford County, Homes
Homes in Bedford County
Bedford County is a place of houses on their own lots: 75% of its 20,129 homes are detached single-family houses, against 68% across Tennessee. Half of its homes were built before 1990, close to Tennessee's 1986: 17% date from before 1960 and 31% from 2000 or later. 70% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Tennessee: 67%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Bedford County | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 20,129 | 3,095,472 |
| Detached houses | 75% | 68% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 7% | 14% |
| Mobile homes | 12% | 8% |
| Built before 1960 | 17% | 18% |
| Built since 2000 | 31% | 29% |
| Middle year built | 1990 | 1986 |
| Owner-occupied | 70% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.