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 Salem city, Virginia
EPA puts Salem city in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 33.6% of its 286 reported radon tests (2008 to 2017, laboratory totals) were at or above 4 pCi/L. Homes with elevated levels occur in all three zones, so only a test measures yours.
Data checked By Radon411Methodology
Share at 4+ pCi/L
33.6%
3.2 pts above VA
- Salem city
- 33.6%
- Virginia
- 30.4%
286 tests, 2008 to 2017
Median result
2.8pCi/L
Below action level
- Salem city
- 2.8 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of the tests, 2008 to 2017
Tests reported
286
39th of 84 by tests
- Salem city
- 286
- Fairfax
- 8,657
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 Virginia
46 of 84
Middle half
- Salem city
- 33.6%
- Russell
- 67.3%
By share, of 84 with 30+ tests
Read a result for Salem city
Starts at Salem city's median, 2.8 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 2.8 pCi/L
Between 2 and 4 pCi/L
- Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
- 2 to 4consider a fix
- 4 and aboveEPA says fix it
This result is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. EPA recommends considering a fix when the level is between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Salem city's median reported result, 2008 to 2017.
The data
Salem city, At a glance
Salem city at a glance
Predicted: EPA radon zone
EPA Zone 1: highest predicted potential
EPA puts all of Salem city in
USGS geologic potential: High across 100% of the county's area
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones
Measured: tests reported to CDC
Radon tests reported for Salem city, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
Under 2 pCi/L: 36%2 to 4 pCi/L: 30%4 pCi/L and above: 34%
Of 286 pre-mitigation tests reported to CDC, not homes in this area.
| Result band | Tests Measured | Share Measured |
|---|---|---|
| Under 2 pCi/L | 103 | 36.0% |
| 2 to 4 pCi/L | 87 | 30.4% |
| 4 pCi/L and above | 96 | 33.6% |
What these figures count
These are the 286 tests reported to CDC for Salem city over 2008 to 2017 (laboratory totals), many from homes being sold or already suspected of a problem: they describe the county's reported tests, not this house.
Measured: CDC tracking data. Figure above: 2008 to 2017, laboratory. Measured data period: 2005 to 2017 (every CDC figure on file).
Salem city, Compared
Salem city radon figures, compared
Calculated by Radon411In Salem city, about 3 in 10 reported tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals (96 of 286) were at or above EPA's action level. Against the national pool of 35.7%, the gap is 2.1 points lower. Across 131 Virginia counties pooled together, 30.4% of tests reached that level, so Salem city runs 3.2 points above its state.
Of 2 neighbours with a figure, none reported a larger share at or above 4 pCi/L; the spread is 22.1% (Roanoke County) to 25.9% (Roanoke city). By share, Salem city is 46th of 84 Virginia counties with 30 or more tests for the same period.
Half the tests came in under 2.8 pCi/L and half over it; the single highest reached 59.2 pCi/L. Below the action level, 103 tests (36.0%) came in under 2 pCi/L, against 44.7% statewide, and 87 tests (30.4%) fell between 2 and 4, against 24.9% statewide.
Zone 1 on EPA's map (predicted average above 4 pCi/L) and a 33.6% share point the same way here. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land high radon potential. CDC also counts 24 tests taken after mitigation in Salem city for the same period: tests in homes where a fix was already in.
CDC's ten-year totals for Salem city went from 312 tests (2005 to 2014) to 286 (2008 to 2017), the share going from 29.5% to 33.6%.
Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.
Salem city, Geology
The ground under Salem city
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Salem city's mapped land in one class: high radon potential. All of it lies in the area the map calls Valley and Ridge, to which USGS gives a radon index of 15, in the high band (12 to 17).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Valley and Ridge | Cambrian dolomite, limestone, shale, and sandstone, Silurian-Ordovician limestone, dolomite, shale, and sandstone, Mississippian-Devonian sandstone, shale, limestone, gypsum, and coal. | High | 15 | 100% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Salem city beside the ground around it
Salem city has more high-potential ground than Virginia as a whole: 100% of its land against 47.9%. Of the 2 counties that border it, none has as large a share of high-potential ground; Roanoke city comes nearest at 96.7%.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Local help
Salem city, Local resources
Radon testing and mitigation in Salem city
- VDH Radon ProgramVDH Radon Program answers questions about testing, mitigation and the rules in Virginia.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsAsk the program whether it has free or discounted kits, or compare kits you can buy.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in Virginia2 professionals are listed in Virginia.
What Virginia's program says
- Phone
- (804) 864-8161
- Radon@vdh.virginia.gov
- Licensing of radon professionals
The Code of Virginia requires that Radon testers and mitigators be currently certified by either the National Radon Proficiency Program (NRPP) or the National Radon Safety Board (NRSB).
What it means
Salem city, Questions
Questions about radon in Salem city
Are radon levels high in Salem city?
Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 33.6% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Salem city, Virginia were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 2.8 pCi/L. Of 84 Virginia counties with 30 or more tests for the same period, 45 reported a higher share; pooled, the state comes to 30.4%.
Which counties border Salem city?
Salem city borders 2 counties: Roanoke city and Roanoke County.
Products
Salem city, Products
Testing a home in Salem city
In Salem city, 33.6% of 286 tests reported to CDC over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals reached 4 pCi/L, against 30.4% pooled across Virginia. In Zone 1 the year-round level in Salem city 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
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
Short-term kit
RA100 short-term liquid scintillation radon test kit
- Lab fee extra
Method: Liquid scintillation
In home: 48 to 96 hours
- See every kit and monitor Test kits and monitors
Test kits and monitors: 1 of 3
Salem city is in EPA Zone 1, the highest predicted radon potential. Best radon monitors for Zone 1 counties like Salem city
Explore
Salem city, Bordering counties
Counties bordering Salem city
Calculated by Radon411- Radon levels in Roanoke cityEPA zone 1
25.9%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 2.3 pCi/L · 1,010 tests · 7.7 points below Salem city
- Radon levels in Roanoke CountyEPA zone 1
22.1%at or above 4 pCi/L
Median 1.9 pCi/L · 1,541 tests · 11.5 points below Salem city
Salem city, Cities and towns
Cities and towns in Salem city
The Census Bureau estimates 25,816 residents in Salem city for July 1, 2025, 418 more than in 2020 (+1.6%). Packed into its land, that is 1,779 people per square mile. Salem, its one incorporated place, has 25,816 residents, 100.0% of the total. Testing is reported here more often than across the state: CDC's 286 reported tests for 2008 to 2017 come to 11.1 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), against 6.0 for Virginia.
Salem is the one incorporated place here; CDC publishes no figure by town, so it reads Salem city's.
| Place | Residents | Since 2020 | Share of residents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem | 25,816 | +1.6% | 100.0% |
One incorporated place, 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).
Salem city, Homes
Homes in Salem city
Of Salem city's 11,096 homes, 71% are detached houses, against 61% across Virginia; 17% are in buildings of five or more homes. The homes are older than Virginia's as a whole: half were built before 1971 (1984 for Virginia), and 33% date from before 1960. 64% of occupied homes are lived in by their owner (Virginia: 67%); in the rest a tenant can run a test, but a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Salem city | Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 11,096 | 3,654,784 |
| Detached houses | 71% | 61% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 17% | 19% |
| Mobile homes | 3% | 4% |
| Built before 1960 | 33% | 19% |
| Built since 2000 | 9% | 25% |
| Middle year built | 1971 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 64% | 67% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.