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Radon Levels in Braxton County, West Virginia

EPA puts Braxton County in Zone 2, its middle radon zone, and only 12 radon tests from it are 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

    36.4%

    Harrison County, 44 miles

    Harrison
    36.4%
    WV
    37.5%

    Share at 4+ pCi/L, 187 tests, 2008 to 2017

  • Ground above low

    100.0%

    14.0 pts above WV

    Braxton
    100.0%
    WV
    86.0%

    Share of land USGS rates moderate or high potential

  • Tests reported

    12

    Too few for a share

    Braxton
    12
    Needed
    30

    2008 to 2017, laboratory

  • EPA radon zone

    Zone 2

    Moderate potential

    1. 1
    2. Zone 2
    3. 3

    1 highest, 3 lowest

    EPA predicts 2 to 4 pCi/L indoors

Read a result for Braxton County

Starts at EPA's action level

4.0pCi/L

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

  1. Under 20 to 1.9 pCi/L
  2. 2 to 4consider a fix
  3. 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

Braxton County, At a glance

Braxton County at a glance

Predicted: EPA radon zone

EPA Zone 2: moderate predicted potential

Braxton County is a county: EPA's forecast for it as a whole is an average indoor of 2 to 4 pCi/L (75 to 150 Bq/m³). It describes no single address, and homes above EPA's are found in every zone, this one included.

USGS geologic potential: Moderate across 100% of the county's area

Predicted: EPA Map of Radon Zones

Measured: tests reported to CDC

Radon tests reported for Braxton County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory

CDC holds 12 reported tests for Braxton County over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, with a median of 1.3 pCi/L: too few to describe a county (Radon411 reads a share from 30 tests up). Braxton County beside the counties around it is how this page reads it.

What these figures count

Only 12 tests were reported to CDC for Braxton 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).

How to read these figures

Braxton County, Compared

Braxton County radon figures, compared

Calculated by Radon411

CDC's largest figure for Braxton County rests on 12 tests over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 3 of them at or above 4 pCi/L, so each test moves its share by 8.3 points and no rank or comparison is drawn from it. Results reached as high as 4.2 pCi/L, with a middle value of 1.3 pCi/L.

The nearest counties with a figure are Harrison County (44 miles away) at 36.4%, Randolph County (46 miles away) at 36.4% and Kanawha County (50 miles away) at 20.6%. Pooled across 55 West Virginia counties, 37.5% of reported tests reached that level; across every county in the country with a figure, 35.7%.

Statewide for the same period, Morgan County reported the highest share (58.1%) and Grant County the lowest (9.8%). EPA's 1993 map puts Braxton County in Zone 2, its middle label: a predicted county average between 2 and 4 pCi/L. USGS geology rates 100% of the county's land moderate radon potential.

West Virginia, the United States and the counties around Braxton County, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
AreaTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
West Virginia, pooled55 counties, pooled10,06137.5%Not pooled
United States, pooled2,661 counties, pooled2,013,54435.7%Not pooled
Morgan Countyhighest in the state24158.1%5.8 pCi/L
Grant Countylowest in the state1649.8%1.1 pCi/L
Nicholas County, WVborders it1330.8%2.6 pCi/L
Webster County, WVborders it1421.4%1.3 pCi/L
Lewis County, WVborders it2313.0%2.0 pCi/L
Gilmer County, WVborders it812.5%2.1 pCi/L
Clay County, WVborders it10.0%0.1 pCi/L
Calhoun County, WVborders it40.0%2.4 pCi/L
The nearest West Virginia counties to Braxton County with 30 or more tests, 2008 to 2017, laboratory
CountyDistanceTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedian
Harrison County44 mi18736.4%2.6 pCi/L
Randolph County46 mi3336.4%2.5 pCi/L
Kanawha County50 mi24720.6%2.2 pCi/L
Tyler County54 mi3522.9%1.8 pCi/L
Greenbrier County54 mi17652.3%4.5 pCi/L
Wood County56 mi90515.9%1.8 pCi/L
Taylor County57 mi3228.1%2.2 pCi/L
Marion County61 mi24429.1%2.6 pCi/L
Braxton County ten-year laboratory totals, against West Virginia's pooled share
PeriodTestsAt or above 4 pCi/LMedianHighestWest Virginia, pooledChange from the row before
2008 to 20171225.0%1.3 pCi/L4.2 pCi/L37.5%+6.8 points
2007 to 20161118.2%1.2 pCi/L4.2 pCi/L37.3%Level
2006 to 20151118.2%1.2 pCi/L4.2 pCi/L37.7%Level
2005 to 20141118.2%1.2 pCi/L4.2 pCi/L37.3%First on file

Pooled shares: Radon411's sum of CDC's county counts for one period.

Braxton County, Geology

The ground under Braxton County

Predicted

USGS's geologic map puts all of Braxton County's mapped land in one class: moderate radon potential. 96.4% of it lies in the area the map calls Central Allegheny Plateau, to which USGS gives a radon index of 10, in the moderate band (9 to 11).

USGS's geologic areas under Braxton County
AreaThe rock, in USGS's wordsPotentialRadon indexShare of land
Central Allegheny PlateauPermian and Pennsylvanian shale, siltstone, sandstone, minor limestone.Moderate1096.4%
Eastern Allegheny Plateau and MtnsDevonian-Pennsylvanian shale, siltstone, sandstone, minor limestone and coalModerate103.6%

Names, descriptions and indexes: U.S. Geological Survey, Geologic Radon Potential Map (2025). Shares: Radon411, from the map cut to the boundary.

Braxton County beside the ground around it

Across West Virginia 18.7% of the land is rated high; none of Braxton County's is. Of the 6 counties that border it, none has as large a share of moderate-potential ground; Calhoun County comes nearest at 100%.

Share of land by USGS radon potential: Braxton County, the 6 counties bordering it and West Virginia
AreaEPA zoneLow potentialModerate potentialHigh potential
Braxton CountyZone 2None100%None
Gilmer CountyZone 2None100%None
Lewis CountyZone 2None100%None
Calhoun CountyZone 2None100%None
Webster CountyZone 2None100%None
Clay CountyZone 21.7%98.3%None
Nicholas CountyZone 210.3%89.7%None
West Virginia55 counties, pooled by land areaVaries14.0%67.3%18.7%

The map rates the ground, not the air in any home.

What it means

Braxton County, Questions

Questions about radon in Braxton County

Are radon levels high in Braxton County?

Over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, 25.0% of the radon tests reported to CDC for Braxton County, West Virginia were at or above 4 pCi/L, and the median reported pre-mitigation result was 1.3 pCi/L. Of the 8 nearest counties with a figure, within 61 miles, the share of tests at or above 4 pCi/L runs from 15.9% to 52.3%.

Which counties border Braxton County?

Braxton County borders 6 counties: Gilmer County, Lewis County, Calhoun County, Webster County, Clay County and Nicholas County.

Products

Braxton County, Products

Testing a home in Braxton County

No CDC figure names Braxton County; the nearest county with one, Harrison County (44 miles away), reported 36.4% of its tests at or above 4 pCi/L over the 2008 to 2017 laboratory totals, the only reading nearby until a test of this home. In Zone 2 a short-term kit (2 to 90 days) is the quick first check in Braxton County; a long-term test tells the year-round average.

Test kits and monitors3

See every kit and monitor

Best radon monitors for Braxton County homes, compared

Explore

Braxton County, Bordering counties

Counties bordering Braxton County

Calculated by Radon411

Braxton County, Cities and towns

Cities and towns in Braxton County

About 11,885 people live in Braxton County by the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025, 515 fewer than in 2020 (−4.2%). That works out to 23 people per square mile of land. No town dominates: Sutton, the largest, has 814 residents, 6.8% of the total. Together its 4 incorporated places hold 18.2% of those residents; the other 81.8% live outside any of them. Reported testing is thin here: 12 tests over 2008 to 2017, or 1.0 for every 1,000 residents (2025 estimate), where West Virginia as a whole comes to 5.7.

From Sutton to Flatwoods, CDC publishes no figure by town: each reads Braxton County's.

The cities and towns in Braxton County by residents, July 1, 2025
PlaceResidentsSince 2020Share of residents
Sutton814−5.2%6.8%
Gassaway715−5.4%6.0%
Burnsville371−5.1%3.1%
Flatwoods260−4.4%2.2%

4 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).

Braxton County, Homes

Homes in Braxton County

Of Braxton County's 6,278 homes, 69% are detached houses, against 71% across West Virginia; 26% are mobile homes. Half of its homes were built before 1977, close to West Virginia's 1976: 33% date from before 1960 and 16% from 2000 or later. Owners live in 79% of the occupied homes (West Virginia: 74%), so for most households a test and a fix are their own to order.

Homes in Braxton County, West Virginia, 2019 to 2023
HomesBraxton CountyWest Virginia
Housing units6,278859,653
Detached houses69%71%
In buildings of 5 or more2%8%
Mobile homes26%14%
Built before 196033%33%
Built since 200016%18%
Middle year built19771976
Owner-occupied79%74%

Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2019 to 2023: estimates from a sample of homes, looser for a small place. Shares by Radon411.