Radon Mitigation in York Township, PA
Updated
PA DEP has 26,831 home radon tests on record from the ZIP codes that cover York Township (17403, 17402, 17313, 17356). 57% came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level, against 52.5% for York County as a whole. Roughly in line with York County overall, where about half of all tests come back high. A standard system here typically costs $800 to $1,500. The only way to know about one house is to test it.
York Township is the most populous suburb of York, and it stretches from the edge of the city south past Spry and Tyler Run toward Dallastown. It overlaps four ZIP codes, including 17313, one of the highest-testing ZIP codes in the county. The township stayed mostly rural until after World War II, so a lot of its housing is newer than the city's, with a real mix of detached homes and townhouses.
What the PA DEP test records show for York Township
ZIP codes don't follow township lines, so the 4 ZIP codes below also take in some homes just outside York Township.
| ZIP | Tests | Median pCi/L | 4+ pCi/L | 10+ | 20+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17403 | 8,348 | 4.7 | 55.2% | 29.6% | 15.2% |
| 17402 | 10,722 | 4.6 | 54.6% | 27.8% | 13.2% |
| 17313 | 2,420 | 7.6 | 65.7% | 42.6% | 23.1% |
| 17356 | 5,341 | 6.1 | 60.9% | 36.3% | 19.7% |
| York County | 98,845 | 4.3 | 52.5% | 26.8% | 13.1% |
- ZIP 17403 (about 36% of York Township's land): median 4.7 pCi/L across 8,348 tests, 15.2% at 20 or higher, top reading 437. Basement median 5.3, first floor 2.8.
- ZIP 17402 (about 26% of York Township's land): median 4.6 pCi/L across 10,722 tests, 13.2% at 20 or higher, top reading 260. Basement median 5.4, first floor 2.6.
- ZIP 17313 (about 24% of York Township's land): median 7.6 pCi/L across 2,420 tests, 23.1% at 20 or higher, top reading 292. Basement median 8.3, first floor 3.8.
- ZIP 17356 (about 14% of York Township's land): median 6.1 pCi/L across 5,341 tests, 19.7% at 20 or higher, top reading 488. Basement median 7.7, first floor 1.4.
The spread inside York Township runs from 54.6% of tests high in 17402 to 65.7% in 17313.
The share that matters most is the 20+ column. 16% of tests here came in at 20 pCi/L or more, five times the action level. The single highest reading on record in these ZIP codes is 488 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 17403, basement tests have a median of 5.3 pCi/L, while tests taken on the first floor have a median of 2.8 pCi/L (1,077 first-floor tests). The gap is smaller than in most of the county, which means readings upstairs here are not much of a relief from the basement number.
It also explains why two neighbors can get very different results. One tested a finished basement, the other tested a first-floor bedroom. For a decision about mitigation, the test that counts is the one from the lowest level anyone spends time in.
Radon results by decade in ZIP 17403
| Decade tested | Tests | Median pCi/L | 4+ pCi/L |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 100 | 9.6 | 74% |
| 1990s | 1,427 | 5.3 | 59.8% |
| 2000s | 2,084 | 5.3 | 58.7% |
| 2010s | 3,304 | 4.6 | 54.1% |
| 2020s | 1,433 | 3.5 | 46.5% |
The share peaked in the 1980s at 74% and sits at 46.5% 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 York Township has not changed. 1,433 tests have been logged in 17403 since 2020, so people here are still testing.
The ground under York Township
The northern part of the township, nearest the city, sits on the York Valley's carbonate lowland. The southern part rises into the Piedmont Upland, where the bedrock turns to schist and other metamorphic rock.
That split shows up in the numbers. ZIP 17313 on the southern side has a median of 7.6 pCi/L and 66% of tests at or above 4.0, while 17402 and 17403 toward the city run about 55%. USGS identifies the schists of the Piedmont as the rock with the highest radon in Pennsylvania groundwater.
Housing in York Township and what it means for a system
Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020 to 2024:
| York Township | York County | |
|---|---|---|
| Homes (housing units) | 13,508 | 189,857 |
| Median year built | 1982 | 1976 |
| Built before 1940 | 5.8% | 18.3% |
| Built before 1980 | 47.1% | 54.8% |
| Built 2000 or later | 23.9% | 20.6% |
| Single-family detached | 54.2% | 64.3% |
| Attached (rowhome, townhouse) | 18.4% | 17.1% |
| Mobile homes | 2.3% | 4.1% |
| Owner-occupied | 70.1% | 76.3% |
54.2% of homes in York Township are single-family detached. A detached house with a basement is the easiest layout to mitigate: one suction point through the slab, a fan outside or in the garage, and a vent above the roof line. It is the standard sub-slab depressurization job covered step by step on our mitigation process page, and it usually lands in the middle of the cost range.
Cost-wise, most houses in York Township are the standard $800 to $1,500 sub-slab job, with block walls or a second suction point pushing toward $2,500. Full ranges on the cost page.
Where we work in York Township
That covers Spry, Tyler Run and Queens Gate. Interstate 83 runs along the township's western side. Public schools here are part of the York Suburban School District in the north and the Dallastown Area School District in the south. The township was incorporated in 1753, and Christ Lutheran Church in Spry is one of its oldest landmarks.
Installers must hold a PA DEP radon mitigation certification (how to check), and permit questions go to the township office at yorktownship.com.
Common questions
Is radon a problem in York Township?
Yes. PA DEP has 26,831 tests on record from the ZIP codes covering York Township, and 57% of them came back at or above the EPA's 4.0 pCi/L action level. 16% were at 20 pCi/L or more. The county-wide rate is 52.5%.
What is the average radon level in ZIP 17403?
The median of 8,348 PA DEP tests in ZIP 17403 is 4.7 pCi/L and the mean is 11.4 pCi/L. A mean that far above the median means a long tail of very high readings, topping out at 437 pCi/L.
Nearby
Spring Garden Township 55.2%, Dallastown 65.7%, Red Lion 60.9%, Windsor Township 57.2%, York City 51.9%. Share of PA DEP tests at or above 4.0 pCi/L, against 57% here.
Have a test result from York Township?
Send us the number and the foundation type, or call and read it out.
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