Is Blue Earth County, MN a radon risk area?

EPA's own radon map rates Blue Earth County zone 1 - highest potential, predicting a county-wide average indoor level above 4 pCi/L. Nationally, Blue Earth County ranks higher in radon potential than 92% of rated counties (the 92nd percentile).

How Blue Earth County compares

About 70,700 people live in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, spread over 747.837 square miles. Population density there runs about 95 people per square mile. Rank 246 by population within its EPA zone puts Blue Earth County at the 77th percentile among zone peers. EPA's geology-based Region 5 groups Blue Earth County with 523 other counties nationally sharing its underlying rock and soil profile.

What this actually means for a house in Blue Earth County

Blue Earth County carries a Zone 1 label because its predicted average clears 4 pCi/L outright — three-plus times the 0.4 pCi/L typical outdoors and above the 1.3 pCi/L most homes see. EPA's guidance doesn't change because of a Zone 1 label: test the house. What changes is the reason to not put it off in Blue Earth County specifically.

If Blue Earth County tests above the action level

Nothing about Blue Earth County's EPA zone changes the mitigation number: $800–$2,500 nationally (around $1,200 typical), set by the house's foundation rather than the county it sits in — and only relevant once a test actually clears 4 pCi/L.

Find Minnesota's state radon program

Blue Earth County's test kit answers today; a Airthings radon monitor keeps answering for Blue Earth County over time. Affiliate link, RadonZoneCheck earns a commission there, at no extra cost to you. RADONZONE-10OFF at checkout knocks 10% off.

More on how this number was built

The methodology guide shows exactly which EPA and Census sources feed Blue Earth County's numbers. Whatever zone Blue Earth County carries, the zone explainer covers what it does and doesn't tell you about any one house.