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 Polk County, Texas
EPA puts Polk County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone, and only 1 radon test from it is on file with CDC (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals). Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Nearest county
7.1%
Montgomery County, 53 miles
- Montgomery
- 7.1%
- Texas
- 10.4%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 85 tests, 2007 to 2016
Ground above low
None
27.3 pts below Texas
- Polk
- 0.0%
- Texas
- 27.3%
Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential
Tests reported
1
Too few for a share
- Polk
- 1
- Needed
- 30
2008 to 2017, laboratory
EPA radon zone
Zone 3
Lower potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for Polk 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
Polk County, At a glance
Polk 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 Polk County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CDC holds 1 reported test for Polk County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, a result of 25.5 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Polk County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.
What these figures count
Only 1 test was reported to CDC for Polk County over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), 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: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Polk County, Compared
Polk County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411CDC's largest figure for Polk County rests on 1 test over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 1 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 100.0 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 25.5 pCi/L, with a middle value of 25.5 pCi/L.
The nearest counties with a figure are Montgomery County (53 miles away) at 7.1%, Harris County (73 miles away) at 3.1% and Brazos County (88 miles away) at 0.0%. Pooled across 140 Texas counties, 10.4% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 35.8%.
Statewide for the same period, Randall County reported the highest share (71.4%) and Nueces County the lowest (0.0%). EPA's 1993 map puts Polk County in Zone 3, its lowest label: a predicted county average under 2 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land low radon potential.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Polk County, Geology
The ground under Polk County
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Polk County's mapped land in one class: low radon potential. The map puts 87.2% of Polk County in the area it calls Coastal Plain and 12.8% in East Texas Province. USGS gives the first a radon index of 7 and the second 6, both in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coastal Plain | Cretaceous through Quaternary marine sandstone, shale, chalk, limestone, siltstone, clay, and lignite. | Low | 7 | 87.2% |
| East Texas Province | Cretaceous through Quaternary marine sandstone, shale, chalk, limestone, siltstone, clay, and lignite. | Low | 6 | 12.8% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Polk County beside the ground around it
Across Texas 0.5% of the land is rated high; none of Polk 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
Polk County, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Polk County
- Texas Radon GroupTexas Radon Group, run by Texas Tech University, does not license radon professionals and offers free or discounted test kits, and answers questions about testing and mitigation in Texas.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
The Texas Radon Group offers free radon test kits for Texas individuals who qualify.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Texas7 professionals are listed in Texas.
What Texas's program says
- Licensing of radon professionals
There are no radon certification requirements for the State of Texas at this time, but the National Radon Proficiency Program lists radon testers and mitigators within Texas that have passed a rigorous national certification program.
What it means
Polk County, Questions
Questions about radon in Polk County
Are radon levels high in Polk County?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 100.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Polk County, Texas were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 25.5 pCi/L. Of the 8 nearest counties with a figure, within 150 miles, the share of tests at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 0.0% to 17.1%.
Which counties border Polk County?
Polk County borders 6 counties: San Jacinto County, Trinity County, Tyler County, Angelina County, Liberty County and Hardin County.
Products
Polk County, Products
Testing a home in Polk County
No CDC figure names Polk County; the nearest county with one, Montgomery County (53 miles away), reported 7.1% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals, the only reading nearby until a test of this home. 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 Polk 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
Monitor
Wave Radon battery smart radon monitor
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Bluetooth
- App only
Method: Alpha spectrometry
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Explore
Polk County, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Polk County
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Angelina CountyEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.1 pCi/L · 3 tests
- Radon levels in Liberty CountyEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.2 pCi/L · 1 test
- Radon levels in Hardin CountyEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.7 pCi/L · 7 tests
- Radon levels in San Jacinto CountyEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2007 to 2016; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
- Radon levels in Trinity CountyEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2007 to 2016; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
- Radon levels in Tyler CountyEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2007 to 2016; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Polk County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Polk County
Polk County is growing: the Census Bureau puts it at 53,434 residents on July 1, 2025, up 5.9% from 50,464 in 2020. That works out to 51 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Livingston, the largest, has 5,386 residents, 10.1% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 19.4% of those residents; the other 80.6% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 1 test over 2008 to 2017, or under 0.1 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where Texas as a whole comes to 0.1.
From Livingston to Seven Oaks, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Polk County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Livingston | 5,386 | −6.0% | 10.1% |
| Onalaska | 3,289 | +6.9% | 6.2% |
| Corrigan | 1,358 | −8.0% | 2.5% |
| Goodrich | 273 | +9.2% | 0.5% |
| Seven Oaks | 73 | +7.4% | 0.1% |
5 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).
Polk County, Homes
Homes in Polk County
Of Polk County's 25,677 homes, 68% are detached houses, against 65% across Texas; 26% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1989, close to Texas' 1990: 8% date from before 1960 and 33% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 77% of the occupied homes (Texas: 63%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.
| Homes | Polk County | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 25,677 | 11,890,808 |
| Detached houses | 68% | 65% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 2% | 21% |
| Mobile homes | 26% | 7% |
| Built before 1960 | 8% | 13% |
| Built since 2000 | 33% | 37% |
| Middle year built | 1989 | 1990 |
| Owner-occupied | 77% | 63% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.