Borough, York County

Radon Mitigation in North York, PA

Updated September 30, 2026

North York is a borough in York County with about 2,812 residents and 1,133 homes, median year built 1946. It sits next to the City of York. The borough was incorporated in 1899. 50.7% of PA DEP radon tests in its ZIP codes came back at or above the action level, below the county's 52.5%.

What the PA DEP test records show for North York

ZIP 17404 covers essentially all of North York, so these numbers are about as local as public radon data gets.

Half of the story is the median. The other half is the tail: 20.2% of tests here were 10 pCi/L or higher and 6.1% were 20 or higher. The top reading on record in these ZIP codes is 534 pCi/L. Neighboring houses can differ by a factor of ten, so none of this tells you what your house is. It tells you the odds are high enough that a $15 to $30 test kit is worth buying.

Tests people chose to run, not a random survey. Details on the York County radon levels page.

Basement readings versus first-floor readings

In ZIP 17404, basement tests have a median of 4.6 pCi/L, while tests taken on the first floor have a median of 1.7 pCi/L (1,092 first-floor tests). The basement number runs 2.7 times the first-floor number, which is the usual pattern: radon comes up from the soil, so it is strongest at the lowest level and gets diluted as it moves up through the house.

Radon results by decade in ZIP 17404

The share peaked in the 2000s at 57% and sits at 42% for tests since 2020. A drop that size is mostly about who is testing, not the ground. More recent tests come from home sales and from retests after a system went in, and both pull the share down. The rock under North York has not changed. 1,372 tests have been logged in 17404 since 2020, so people here are still testing.

Housing in North York and what it means for a system

Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024:

45.8% of the homes in North York were built before 1940, against 18.3% county-wide. Houses that old usually sit on stone or early block foundations with no vapor barrier and plenty of joints, which gives soil gas more ways in. They are still very fixable. The installer just spends more time sealing, and sometimes needs a second suction point, which is why these jobs tend to land toward the upper end of the cost range.

About 43.8% of homes here are attached: rowhomes, twins and townhouses. A shared wall does not stop radon, and neither does a neighbor's system, so each unit needs its own test. The tricky part is pipe routing, since there is often no side yard to run the vent up. Our rowhome radon guide covers how installers handle it.

Only about 39.1% of homes in North York are owner-occupied, so a lot of people here rent. Pennsylvania does not require landlords to test, but a tenant can ask, and a landlord can test between tenancies without much hassle. Our landlord testing guide covers the details.

Cost-wise, an attached home in North York is usually still a single suction point, so $800 to $1,500 is the normal range, but a long interior pipe run to get above the roof line can push it higher. Full ranges on the cost page.

Where we work in North York

The borough was incorporated in 1899.

Installers must hold a PA DEP radon mitigation certification (how to check), and permit questions go to the borough office at northyorkborough.com.

Common questions

Is radon a problem in North York?

Yes. PA DEP has 8,196 tests on record from the ZIP code covering North York, and 50.7% of them came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level. 6.1% were at 20 pCi/L or more. The county-wide rate is 52.5%.

What is the average radon level in ZIP 17404?

The median of 8,196 PA DEP tests in ZIP 17404 is 4 pCi/L and the mean is 7 pCi/L. The top reading on record there is 534 pCi/L.

Nearby

West York 50.7%, Manchester Township 51.3%, York City 51.9%, Conewago Township 49.1%, West Manchester Township 50.5%. Share of PA DEP tests at or above 4.0 pCi/L, against 50.7% here.