Locations and reports
Radon in Vancouver, Washington
EPA puts Clark County, where Vancouver is, in Zone 1, its highest radon zone, and 17.6% of its 490 reported radon tests (2020) 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
17.6%
1.4 pts below WA
- Clark
- 17.6%
- Washington
- 19.0%
Clark, 4th of 10 in WA, 2020
Median result
1.2pCi/L
Below action level
- Clark
- 1.2 pCi/L
- EPA
- 4.0 pCi/L
Midpoint of Clark's tests, 2020
Nearest county
6.5%
Thurston, 90 miles
- Thurston
- 6.5%
- Clark
- 17.6%
46 tests, 2020
EPA radon zone
Zone 1
Highest potential
- Zone 1
- 2
- 3
1 highest, 3 lowest
Clark, where Vancouver is
Tests reported
490
In Clark
- Clark
- 490
- Thurston
- 46
Reported to CDC before any fix, 2020
Read a result for Vancouver
Starts at Clark County's median, 1.2 pCi/L
EPA’s own thresholds; the figures are the area’s, never this home’s.
EPA’s reading of 1.2 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. Clark County's median reported result, 2020.
The data
Vancouver, What is published
What is published for Vancouver
Every figure for Vancouver is a county's
Radon data is published by county, not by city, so for Vancouver it is Clark County's: its EPA zone (Zone 1) and the 490 tests reported to CDC for 2020. Only a test tells you about one home.
Vancouver covers 48.7 square miles of land, all of it in Clark County. About 199,698 people live there, 4,097 to the square mile.
Vancouver, Counties
The county Vancouver lies in
MeasuredClark County's EPA zone and the figures CDC publishes for it, 2020.
Clark CountyZone 1Highest predicted potential
- 17.6%
- Reported tests at or above 4 pCi/L
- 1.2 pCi/L
- Median reported result
- 490 tests
- Tests reported to CDC
- 7
- Annual years on file
Clark County ranks 4th of 10 Washington counties with 30 or more tests for that period, 1.4 points below the 19.0% pooled across Washington's counties, 7.9 points below the national pool of 25.5%.
Measured from the middle of Vancouver, the nearest counties with a CDC figure for 2020 are Thurston County (90 miles, 6.5% of 46 tests), Pierce County (99 miles, 4.3% of 420 tests) and Yakima County (106 miles, 5.3% of 57 tests). Across the 8 nearest, the share at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 0.0% to 40.6%; the farthest of them, Spokane County, is 282 miles away at 40.6%.
No business in the directory gives Vancouver as its address; the Washington list covers it. Washington's other cities with a page of their own: Seattle.
The counties around Vancouver
By distance from the middle of Vancouver; counties with 30 or more tests.
Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones, by county. Measured: CDC tracking data, by county, 2020.
Vancouver, Geology
The ground under Vancouver
PredictedUSGS's geologic map puts all of Vancouver's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. 88.1% of it lies in the area the map calls Columbia River Gorge, to which USGS gives a radon index of 9, in the moderate band (9 to 11).
| Area | The rock, in USGS's words | Potential | Radon index | Share of land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia River Gorge | River and lacustrine delta deposits and volcanic debris flows. | Moderate | 9 | 88.1% |
Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.
Vancouver beside its county and Washington
Vancouver sits on more moderate-potential ground than Clark County as a whole: 88.1% of the city against 70.9% of the county. Across Washington 13.7% of the land is rated high; none of Vancouver's is.
The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.
Vancouver, Homes
Homes in Vancouver
Fewer than six in ten of Vancouver's 83,450 homes are detached houses (51%, against 67% across Clark County); the rest are attached, in shared buildings or mobile. Half of its homes were built before 1987, close to Clark County's 1993: 15% date from before 1960 and 25% from 2000 or later. Most occupied homes here are rented: owners live in 50% (Clark County: 66%). A tenant can run a test; a fix is the landlord's to make.
| Homes | Vancouver | Clark County | Washington |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing units | 83,450 | 201,114 | 3,262,667 |
| Detached houses | 51% | 67% | 62% |
| In buildings of 5 or more | 29% | 17% | 22% |
| Mobile homes | 2% | 4% | 6% |
| Built before 1960 | 15% | 11% | 21% |
| Built since 2000 | 25% | 34% | 28% |
| Middle year built | 1987 | 1993 | 1984 |
| Owner-occupied | 50% | 66% | 64% |
Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.
Local help
Vancouver, Local resources
Local resources for Vancouver
Who to ask in Washington: its radon program, test kits and professionals.
- Radon ProgramRun by Washington State Department of Health, phone 360-236-3200.Visit the program’s page(opens in a new tab)
- Free and low-cost kitsThe program says:
We have a limited supply of free radon test kits.
- Compare kits
- Professionals in WashingtonRadon testers and mitigators in Washington, each with how its listing was checked.
The program's own words on licensing are on the Washington page.
What it means
Vancouver, Questions
Questions about radon in Vancouver
What radon zone is Vancouver in?
Vancouver takes its zone from Clark County, which EPA puts in Zone 1, the map's highest class: a predicted county average above 4 pCi/L.
What are radon levels in Vancouver?
Most tests near Vancouver come back under EPA's action level, but not all: 17.6% of Clark County's 490 tests for 2020 were at or above 4 pCi/L. The median reported result was 1.2 pCi/L.
Should I test my home in Vancouver?
Yes. In Clark County, about one reported test in 6 reached 4 pCi/L. That is about what Washington as a whole reports (19.0%), and ranks Clark County 4th of the 10 Washington counties with 30 or more tests. The number for one house comes only from testing it. How to test a home.
What ground is Vancouver built on, as far as radon goes?
USGS's geologic map puts 88.1% of Vancouver on one named area, "Columbia River Gorge", rated moderate for radon potential, radon index 9.
Is radon higher in the counties around Vancouver?
It depends which way you go. 2 of the 8 nearest counties with a figure report a larger share than Clark County's 17.6% and 6 a smaller one: from Kitsap County (0.0%, 137 miles off) to Spokane County (40.6%, 282 miles off).
The answers use the published figures of Clark County, the county Vancouver lies in.
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