Radon Testing in Colorado Springs, CO | InspectandTest
El Paso County records some of the highest indoor radon levels in Colorado, and Colorado Springs sits squarely inside EPA Radon Zone 1, the agency’s highest-risk category where the predicted average indoor level meets or exceeds the 4 pCi/L action threshold. Radon is a colorless, odorless radioactive gas and the second-leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. This page explains how radon testing colorado springs homeowners should plan, why local geology drives the risk, and what testing costs. This summary reflects EPA and CDPHE guidance current as of 2026; consult a certified professional for testing and mitigation decisions specific to your home.
Radon testing in Colorado Springs: what to know
Radon testing measures how much of the gas has accumulated inside a home, reported in picocuries per liter (pCi/L). The EPA recommends action at or above 4 pCi/L, and because Colorado Springs lies in Zone 1, a meaningful share of local homes test at or above that line. The only way to know your number is to test, since two identical houses on the same street can read very differently depending on foundation cracks and soil contact.
Tests fall into two groups. Short-term tests (2 to 7 days) give a fast snapshot and suit real-estate timelines. Long-term tests (90+ days) average out seasonal swings and better reflect year-round exposure. For the underlying science behind both, our plain-language radon testing guide for Front Range homeowners walks through device types and how to read results.
It helps to understand why radon varies so much house to house in the Springs. Two homes built by the same builder in the same Powers-corridor subdivision can read 2 pCi/L and 9 pCi/L because one has a tighter slab, a sealed sump, and better soil contact than the other. The amount of uranium in the soil directly beneath a foundation, the number and size of cracks, and how hard the furnace runs all change the result. That variability is exactly why a neighbor’s clean test tells you nothing about your own home and why testing is an individual-home decision, not a neighborhood one.
Why Colorado Springs homes need radon testing
The driver is geology plus climate. Radon forms from the natural decay of uranium in soil and rock, and the Front Range’s granitic and sedimentary formations release it readily. El Paso County’s expansive bentonite clay soils make the problem worse: the clay swells and shrinks with seasonal moisture, opening foundation cracks that become direct pathways for soil gas to enter basements and slabs.
The semi-arid climate adds a second mechanism. Colorado Springs winters are cold, so homes are tightened and sealed, and furnaces create a slight negative pressure that actively pulls radon-laden soil gas up through those clay-driven cracks. At roughly 6,035 feet of elevation, the long heating season means homes stay closed for months, concentrating radon indoors precisely when families spend the most time inside.
The housing stock compounds the risk. The Fort Carson, Peterson, Schriever, and Air Force Academy growth waves produced thousands of homes from the 1980s through the 2010s with large finished basements, which are the lowest, most soil-contacted living spaces and therefore the highest-radon spaces. A finished basement bedroom or home office is the worst-case scenario: maximum soil contact combined with maximum occupancy. Older Old Colorado City homes, with rubble or stone foundations and dirt-floor crawl spaces, present a different but equally serious pathway, because bare soil offers almost no barrier to gas entry at all.
Newer construction is not exempt. Energy-efficient homes built to keep heated air in also keep radon in, because they exchange less air with the outdoors. A tightly sealed 2015-built Powers-corridor home with a finished basement can hold radon at a higher concentration than a leakier 1960s house simply because the gas has fewer escape routes. That is why testing applies across every era of Colorado Springs housing, not just the old or only the new, and why builders increasingly install passive radon rough-ins that a later test may show need an active fan to perform.
What a Colorado Springs radon test covers
A professional test places a calibrated continuous radon monitor or passive device in the lowest livable level, usually a basement or ground-floor living space, under closed-house conditions. The tester documents placement height, distance from exterior walls, and the closed-house window so the result is defensible if it feeds a real-estate negotiation.
Closed-house conditions
For at least 12 hours before and during a short-term test, windows and exterior doors stay shut except for normal entry and exit. This standard prevents a breezy Colorado afternoon from artificially diluting the reading. If a test comes back at or above 4 pCi/L, the next step is mitigation, covered in our guide to radon mitigation in Colorado Springs.
Continuous monitors versus passive kits
A continuous radon monitor logs hourly readings, which means it can show whether levels spiked overnight or whether someone opened a window mid-test, evidence that protects buyers from a tampered result. Passive devices, such as charcoal canisters or alpha-track detectors, simply average exposure over the test period and are mailed to a lab. For a home sale, the continuous monitor’s tamper-detection and hour-by-hour record make it the preferred tool, even though it costs more. For a homeowner’s own peace of mind, a passive long-term kit gives a more representative annual picture at a lower price.
Where to place the device
Placement changes the result. The device belongs in the lowest level that is or could become living space, set 20 inches or more above the floor, away from exterior walls, drafts, and direct sunlight, and not next to a sump or floor drain. In a typical Springs home with a finished basement, that means the basement family room rather than an unfinished mechanical corner. Testing a level no one uses, like a sealed crawl space, understates the exposure a family actually experiences. A professional follows EPA placement protocol so the number reflects real occupancy, which matters most when the result will drive a mitigation decision or a purchase negotiation.
Radon testing cost in Colorado Springs
A professional short-term radon test in the Colorado Springs market typically runs about $135 to $250. A do-it-yourself test kit costs roughly $15 to $40 plus lab fees, and CDPHE periodically offers discounted kits to Colorado residents. When testing is bundled into a pre-purchase home inspection, providers often add it for $100 to $175 rather than charging a separate trip fee.
Long-term test kits sit at the low end on price but tie up months of time. For a transaction, the short-term professional test is standard because it produces a documented, closed-house result quickly enough to fit inspection deadlines.
Weigh the cost against the stakes. The EPA attributes thousands of lung-cancer deaths a year to radon, and El Paso County’s Zone 1 status means local exposure risk is among the highest in the state. A $200 test that catches an 8 pCi/L reading lets a family install a roughly $1,500 mitigation system and cut that exposure by 90 percent or more. Skipping the test leaves the risk invisible and untreated for as long as the family lives there. Few home-safety measures offer that ratio of cost to protection.
Colorado regulations and disclosure
Colorado requires radon disclosure in residential real-estate transactions, and the state’s Seller’s Property Disclosure asks sellers to report known radon test results and any existing mitigation system. CDPHE runs the state radon program, sets guidance around the 4 pCi/L EPA action level, and offers discounted test kits to residents. Colorado does not license home inspectors, so for any test tied to a sale, confirm the tester follows recognized national measurement protocols rather than assuming a state license guarantees competence.
Disclosure cuts both ways in a negotiation. A seller who has tested and mitigated can present a clean post-mitigation result as a selling point, while a seller who has never tested leaves the buyer to discover the number during the contingency, often leading to a mitigation credit or a price adjustment. Buyers should never waive radon testing in a Zone 1 county like El Paso simply to make an offer more competitive; the long-term health stakes and the modest cost of a fix make that a poor trade.
Neighborhoods and areas served
Radon turns up across the Springs regardless of price point. Newer Briargate and Powers-corridor homes with deep finished basements, the Broadmoor’s established properties, hillside Rockrimmon lots, and the older housing of Old Colorado City all sit on the same uranium-bearing Front Range soils. Service usually extends to adjacent Manitou Springs, Monument, and Fountain, all within the same Zone 1 footprint where elevated readings are common.
Monument and the Tri-Lakes area north of the city, at even higher elevation, frequently produce elevated readings, and the rural and semi-rural lots there often sit directly on fractured bedrock that vents radon readily. Fountain and the Security-Widefield area to the south have their own mix of older and newer housing on the same regional geology. Wherever the home sits in El Paso County, the Zone 1 designation holds, which is why local testers treat radon as a default test rather than an optional add-on.
How to choose a Colorado Springs radon testing provider
Ask whether the provider uses a calibrated continuous radon monitor and follows EPA or AARST measurement protocols. A good tester documents closed-house conditions, device placement, and the test duration so the result holds up in a sale. Bundling radon with a full Colorado Springs home inspection is efficient and gives buyers one coordinated report covering both the structure and the soil-gas risk.
Confirm the monitor’s calibration is current; an out-of-calibration device produces results no one should rely on. For a purchase, ask the provider to place the device themselves rather than handing you a kit, because a tester-placed, tester-retrieved continuous monitor carries far more weight in a negotiation than a self-administered canister. And if a first test comes back borderline, between 2 and 4 pCi/L, a competent provider will explain your options rather than pushing an unnecessary mitigation sale.
Plan around your timeline. In a real-estate transaction the test usually happens during the inspection contingency, so a provider who can place a continuous monitor and return a documented result within a few days is essential, especially given how tight Front Range contract deadlines run. For a homeowner not under deadline, scheduling a long-term test over the winter heating season captures the worst-case closed-house condition that Colorado Springs homes experience for months at a time. Either way, keep the original report; if you later mitigate and sell, the before-and-after pair of results is exactly what a buyer wants to see.
References
- Radon health risk and zone maps — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Colorado radon program and test kits — Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- Radon and lung cancer — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Every Colorado Springs home sits in EPA Zone 1, so testing is not optional peace of mind. To connect with a vetted local radon tester before your purchase deadline or this heating season, get in touch through our contact page.