Short-term kit
Radon Short Term Test Kit short-term charcoal radon test kit, lab fee included
- Lab fee included
Method: Charcoal
In home: 2 to 7 days
Locations and reports
Radon Levels in Shelby County, Texas
EPA puts Shelby County in Zone 3, its lowest radon zone. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Nearest county
9.1%
Smith County, 77 miles
- Smith
- 9.1%
- Texas
- 10.4%
Share at 4+ pCi/L, 33 tests, 2007 to 2016
Ground above low
None
27.3 pts below Texas
- Shelby
- 0.0%
- Texas
- 27.3%
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 3
Lower potential
- 1
- 2
- Zone 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
EPA predicts under 2 pCi/L indoors
Read a result for Shelby 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
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
No CDC test figures here
CDC has published no radon test figures for Shelby County. Smith County, 77 miles away, is the nearest county with a figure over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals.
Shelby County, Compared
Shelby County radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411Shelby County has no radon test figure of its own from CDC, whose counts over the 2007 to 2016 laboratory totals name 140 other Texas counties and leave it out. Pooled across 140 Texas counties, 10.4% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 35.8%.
The nearest counties with a figure are Smith County (77 miles away) at 9.1%, Montgomery County (131 miles away) at 7.1% and Brazos County (150 miles away) at 0.0%. 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 Shelby 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.
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. All of it lies in the area the map calls East Texas Province, to which USGS gives a radon index of 6, in the low band (5 to 8).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Texas Province | Cretaceous through Quaternary marine sandstone, shale, chalk, limestone, siltstone, clay, and lignite. | Low | 6 | 99.8% |
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 Texas 0.5% of the land is rated high; none of Shelby County's is. None of the 7 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
- 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
Shelby County, Questions
Questions about radon in Shelby County
Are radon levels high in Shelby County?
No CDC testing statistics are published here for Shelby County, Texas yet. Of the 8 nearest counties with a figure, within 181 miles, the share of tests at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 0.0% to 17.1%.
Which counties border Shelby County?
Shelby County borders 7 counties: San Augustine County, TX, Panola County, TX, De Soto Parish, LA, Nacogdoches County, TX, Sabine County, TX, Sabine Parish, LA and Rusk County, TX.
Products
Shelby County, Products
Testing a home in Shelby County
No CDC figure names Shelby County; the nearest county with one, Smith County (77 miles away), reported 9.1% 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 Shelby County.
Test kits and monitors3
See every kit and monitor
Long-term kit
RL116 long-term radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Alpha track
In home: 90 days to 12 months
MonitorINKBIRD
INK-RD3 battery radon monitor with an e-ink screen
- C-NRPP 2024/25: Not included
- Battery
- Screen
First reading: Within 24 hours
- 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 Panola County, TXEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.6 pCi/L · 2 tests
- Radon levels in De Soto Parish, LAEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.2 pCi/L · 8 tests
- Radon levels in Nacogdoches County, TXEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.0 pCi/L · 6 tests
- Radon levels in Sabine Parish, LAEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.1 pCi/L · 1 test
- Radon levels in Rusk County, TXEPA zone 3
0.0%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 0.4 pCi/L · 2 tests
- Radon levels in San Augustine County, TXEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2007 to 2016; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
- Radon levels in Sabine County, TXEPA zone 3
No CDC figure for 2007 to 2016; its page reads it against its own neighbours.
Shelby County, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Shelby County
The Census Bureau estimates 24,286 residents in Shelby County for July 1, 2025, 244 more than in 2020 (+1.0%). That works out to 31 people per square mile of land. Its largest town, Center, has 5,246 residents, 21.6% of the total. Together its 5 incorporated places hold 34.3% of those residents; the other 65.7% live outside any of them. CDC publishes no radon test count for Shelby County; across Texas its counts for 2007 to 2016 come to 0.1 tests for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate).
From Center to Huxley, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Shelby County's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Center | 5,246 | −1.2% | 21.6% |
| Tenaha | 1,005 | +2.0% | 4.1% |
| Timpson | 995 | +0.9% | 4.1% |
| Joaquin | 732 | +0.3% | 3.0% |
| Huxley | 344 | +3.0% | 1.4% |
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).
Shelby County, Homes
Homes in Shelby County
Of Shelby County's 11,530 homes, 61% are detached houses, against 65% across Texas; 32% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1983, close to Texas' 1990: 16% date from before 1960 and 26% from 2000 or later. 75% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Texas: 63%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Shelby County | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 11,530 | 11,890,808 |
| Detached houses | 61% | 65% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 3% | 21% |
| Mobile homes | 32% | 7% |
| Built before 1960 | 16% | 13% |
| Built since 2000 | 26% | 37% |
| Middle year built | 1983 | 1990 |
| Owner-occupied | 75% | 63% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.