Manganese and arsenic have turned up often in Jackson County wells, mostly from one small area.
2 likely overstated, 4 rare out of 6 health checks.
From 63 wells tested in Jackson County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
*Manganese: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates it.
*Arsenic: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so it may not match the rest of the county.
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Who drinks from a well here
About 1 in 34 people 21,214 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
How deep wells go here
Middle depth: some shelter from the surface, not complete.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Likely here. Test your home's air first.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Jackson County compares with Missouri and the counties around it.
Each result puts Jackson County next to the 7 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
These 2 have turned up often here, mostly from one small area.
Manganese47 of 55 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Cass, Johnson, Johnson, KS, Lafayette, Ray, Wyandotte, KS.
All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates it.
Arsenic10 of 55 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Cass, Johnson, Johnson, KS, Lafayette, Ray, Wyandotte, KS.
All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so it may not match the rest of the county.
These 4 are rare in Jackson County.
Lead1 of 55 wells over
Too few tested to show: Cass, Johnson, Johnson, KS, Lafayette, Ray, Wyandotte, KS.
Uranium1 of 55 wells over
Too few tested to show: Cass, Johnson, Johnson, KS, Lafayette, Ray, Wyandotte, KS.
Nitrate0 of 62 wells over
Too few tested to show: Cass, Johnson, Johnson, KS, Lafayette, Ray, Wyandotte, KS.
Fluoride0 of 55 wells over
Too few tested to show: Cass, Johnson, Johnson, KS, Lafayette, Ray, Wyandotte, KS.
Every well needs a bacteria test every year.
No bacteria tests from Jackson County wells are in the public data. Test every year anyway.
Iron reached staining levels in 54 of 55 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains54 of 55 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Cass, Johnson, Johnson, KS, Lafayette, Ray, Wyandotte, KS.
About 7 in 10 of the 63 wells tested in Jackson County have a test from 2020 or later.
With 45 wells tested since 2020, age matters less here than who did the testing and why.
Most Jackson County wells in these records were tested for research or because someone suspected a problem, which can push the shares above what a typical home well would show (how we read the numbers).
One mail-in lab test covers the 4 things to check in Jackson County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Manganese
- Arsenic
What Missouri offers well owners
- Free testingThe State Public Health Laboratory tests private well water for bacteria for a $10 handling fee, with kits available through local public health agencies. See the program
- Certified labsMissouri's list of certified labs
- Well recordsMissouri's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 104 feet.
That comes from 171 household wells in Missouri's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 16 to 92 feet deep. Wells as deep as Jackson County's are usually better protected from fertilizer and bacteria at the surface, but they can pick up more of what's in the rock, like arsenic and uranium. Typical household wells here are shallower than in 82 of the 105 other Missouri counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in Missouri's well record search, or see how to find it.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Jackson County.
Jackson County is in the EPA's highest radon zone. Radon from well water adds to the radon in your indoor air, so test your air first, and your water too if the air is high. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 13 town water systems in Jackson County test for PFAS. 3 found some PFAS, all below the new limits. No well in Jackson County has public PFAS results, so the town systems are the best clue to what's in the groundwater nearby. PFAS guide
Radon zones: EPA Map of Radon Zones. PFAS: EPA tests of town water systems, 2023 to 2025
Questions people ask about well water in Jackson County
Is well water in Jackson County safe to drink?
47 of 55 wells tested in Jackson County had manganese over the limit, about 9 in 10. Across Missouri it's about 3 in 10. We don't rank this against other Missouri counties, because most of these tests come from one small area. All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey in one small part of the county, so this likely overstates it. So test your own well for manganese before you count on it.
Can I get my well tested for free in Jackson County?
The State Public Health Laboratory tests private well water for bacteria for a $10 handling fee, with kits available through local public health agencies. If not, use a lab Missouri has certified for drinking water. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, manganese and arsenic, the tests that matter most in Jackson County.
How deep are wells in Jackson County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 104 feet. Typical household wells here are shallower than in 82 of the 105 other Missouri counties with enough drilling records.
How does Jackson County compare with the counties around it?
For manganese, the share of tested wells over the limit: Clay, the one neighbor with data, came in lower than Jackson County, at 73% against 85%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Clay's 73% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Jackson County?
Jackson County has no public bacteria results for wells, so follow the CDC's advice: test for bacteria and nitrate every year, and right away after a flood, a repair, or any change in taste or smell.
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Where the Jackson County numbers come from
- People on wells: 21,214 in Jackson County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 2,660 well water samples from 63 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2023.
- Well depths: 171 Missouri drilling records for Jackson County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 7 counties that share a border with Jackson County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- Results marked likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 13 town water systems in Jackson County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Jackson County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, checked November 1, 2026.