Short-term kit
RA400 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Shelby County, Tennessee
EPA puts Shelby County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 9 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
6.3%
27.0 pts below TN
- Shelby
- 6.3%
- Tennessee
- 33.3%
384 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
1.0pCi/L
Below action level
- Shelby
- 1.0 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
384
16th of 80 by tests
- Shelby
- 384
- Davidson
- 5,592
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2008 to 2017
EPA radon zone
Zone 3
Lower potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors
Rank in Tennessee
76 of 80
Lowest quarter
- Shelby
- 6.3%
- Jefferson
- 56.8%
By share, of 80 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Shelby County
Starts at Shelby County's median, 1.0 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.0 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. Shelby County's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Shelby County, At a glance
Shelby County at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 3: lower predicted potential
USGS geologic potential: Low across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Shelby 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 9 tests were reported to CDC for Shelby 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).
Shelby County, Compared
Shelby County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Shelby County reports fewer high tests than Tennessee overall. 6.3% of its 384 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals were at or above 4 pCi/L. That is 27.0 points below the 33.3% pooled from 95 Tennessee counties.
The newest figure, in 2023, counts only 9 tests (0.0% at or above 4 pCi/L), too few to compare, so this reading uses the 384-test figure.
Ordered from highest share down, it comes 76th of 80 Tennessee counties with 30 or more tests for the same period. Nationally, every county with a figure for the same period pools to 35.7%; Shelby County sits 29.4 points below it.
Next door, the shares run from 4.5% in Tipton County to 11.1% in Fayette County, with Tipton County below Shelby County. Zone 3 on EPA's map (predicted average under 2 pCi/L) and a 6.3% share point the same way here.
Half the tests came in under 1.0 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 35.2 pCi/L. The rest split 79.7% under 2 pCi/L and 14.1% from 2 to 4 (Tennessee: 42.4% and 24.3%).
The busiest year on file was 2022, with 51 tests reported; the quietest, 2023, had 9.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Shelby County, Geology
The ground under Shelby County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Shelby County's mapped land in one class: low radon potential. The map puts 82.1% of Shelby County in the area it calls Loess-Covered Coastal Plain and 17.1% in Mississippi Alluvial Plain. USGS gives the first a radon index of 8 and the second 7, both in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loess-Covered Coastal Plain | Cretaceous and younger marine and fluvial sand, clay, and marl covered with loess. | Low | 8 | 82.1% |
| Mississippi Alluvial Plain | Alluvial sand, silt, gravel, and clay. | Low | 7 | 17.1% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Shelby County beside the ground around it
Across Tennessee 47.2% of the land is rated high; none of Shelby County's is. None of the 6 counties that border it has any moderate-potential ground either.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Shelby County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Shelby 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
Shelby County, Questions
Questions about radon in Shelby County
Are radon levels high in Shelby County?
In 2023, 0.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Shelby County, Tennessee were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 0.9 pCi/L. Of 80 Tennessee counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 75 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 33.3%.
Which counties border Shelby County?
Shelby County borders 6 counties: Crittenden County, AR, Tipton County, TN, Fayette County, TN, DeSoto County, MS, Mississippi County, AR and Marshall County, MS.
Products
Shelby County, Products
Testing a home in Shelby County
In Shelby County, 6.3% of 384 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 33.3% pooled across Tennessee. Zone 3 is the lowest label, yet homes at or above 4 pCi/L occur in every zone: a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Shelby County.
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
MonitorAEGTEST
HOUND-3786 rechargeable radon monitor with a 3.5-inch color screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Alarm
- Screen
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
Shelby County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Shelby County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Mississippi County, AREPA zone 3
75.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 9.8 pCi/L · 4 tests · 68.7 points above Shelby County
- Radon levels in Fayette County, TNEPA zone 3
11.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.1 pCi/L · 99 tests · 4.8 points above Shelby County
- Radon levels in Tipton County, TNEPA zone 3
4.5%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.0 pCi/L · 88 tests · 1.8 points below Shelby County
- Radon levels in Crittenden County, AREPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.1 pCi/L · 1 test · 6.3 points below Shelby County
- Radon levels in DeSoto County, MSEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2008 to 2017; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
- Radon levels in Marshall County, MSEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2008 to 2017; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Shelby County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Shelby County
About 910,226 people live in Shelby County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 19,494 fewer than in 2020 (−2.1%). Packed into its land, that is 1,197 people per square mile. Memphis alone is home to 609,647 of them, 67.0% of the total. Together its 7 incorporated places hold 88.0% of those residents; the other 12.0% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 384 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 0.4 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Tennessee as a whole comes to 4.2.
From Memphis to Millington, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Shelby County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis | 609,647 | −3.0% | 67.0% |
| Bartlett | 56,416 | −2.2% | 6.2% |
| Collierville | 51,909 | +1.4% | 5.7% |
| Germantown | 40,001 | −3.1% | 4.4% |
| Arlington | 15,703 | +5.3% | 1.7% |
| Lakeland | 14,422 | +2.8% | 1.6% |
| Millington | 12,953 | +22.4% | 1.4% |
7 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).
Shelby County, Homes
Homes in Shelby County
Of Shelby County's 403,144 homes, 67% are detached houses, against 68% across Tennessee; 21% are in buildings of five or more homes. The homes are older than Tennessee's as a whole: half were built before 1977 (1986 for Tennessee), and 27% date from before 1960. 55% 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 | Shelby County | Tennessee |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 403,144 | 3,095,472 |
| Detached houses | 67% | 68% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 21% | 14% |
| Mobile homes | 1% | 8% |
| Built before 1960 | 27% | 18% |
| Built since 2000 | 18% | 29% |
| Middle year built | 1977 | 1986 |
| Owner-occupied | 55% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.