Is Cherokee County, IA a radon risk area?

EPA places Cherokee County in Zone 1 - Highest Potential — a predicted county-wide average indoor radon level above 4 pCi/L, based on the geology, soil and aerial radioactivity data behind EPA's national map. Nationally that's the 77th percentile for radon potential — Cherokee County outranks 77% of every county EPA has rated.

Cherokee County by the numbers

About 11,658 people live in Cherokee County, Iowa, spread over 576.907 square miles. That works out to roughly 20 people per square mile. Rank 729 by population within its EPA zone puts Cherokee County at the 32nd percentile among zone peers. Geologically, Cherokee County is grouped into EPA Region 7 alongside 411 other counties that share its rock and soil setting.

What this actually means for a house in Cherokee County

Outdoor air nationally averages about 0.4 pCi/L, indoor air about 1.3 pCi/L — Cherokee County's Zone 1 prediction clears both of those and EPA's fix-it threshold besides. That doesn't mean every Cherokee County house tests high — a zone is a county-wide prediction, never a single-home reading — but it's a reason to test sooner rather than let it wait.

Testing and mitigation in Cherokee County

Nothing about Cherokee 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 Iowa's state radon program

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

More on how this number was built

Every figure on this page traces to EPA's own Map of Radon Zones and Census data, documented in the methodology guide. Whatever zone Cherokee County carries, the zone explainer covers what it does and doesn't tell you about any one house.