Free testing, with limits
Free PFAS testing in New York is limited to a pilot in 6 counties. Check which tests it includes before you count on it for uranium.
New York's private well pageUranium in New York well water, by county
Uranium is worth checking in 1 of the 47 New York counties with 10 or more tested wells, and rare in the rest. A county's share tells you how likely a problem is nearby. Only a test of your own well tells you what's in it.
How New York compares with the rest of the country
Across New York, under 1 in 50 tested wells had uranium over the EPA limit of 30 µg/L (4 of 1,100). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 22. That's less often than in the country as a whole. Counties still differ, so check yours below.
Why it matters: Drinking it for years can harm your kidneys and raises the risk of cancer.
Uranium comes out of the rock and sediment the wells draw from.
Uranium in tested wells, county by county
Share of each county's tested wells with at least one result over the EPA limit of 30 µg/L. Counties need 10 or more tested wells to be listed. Widespread means 15% or more, worth checking 5 to 15%, rare under 5%.
| County | Wells tested | Wells over the limit | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County | 17 | Worth checking | |
| Herkimer County | 23 | Rare | |
| St. Lawrence County | 43 | Rare | |
| Ulster County | 62 | Rare | |
| Tompkins County | 56 | Rare | |
| Suffolk County | 50 | Rare | |
| Saratoga County | 40 | Rare | |
| Essex County | 33 | Rare | |
| Steuben County | 33 | Rare | |
| Broome County | 31 | Rare | |
| Delaware County | 27 | Rare | |
| Allegany County | 26 | Rare | |
| Cattaraugus County | 26 | Rare | |
| Chautauqua County | 25 | Rare | |
| Jefferson County | 25 | Rare | |
| Oneida County | 25 | Rare | |
| Warren County | 24 | Rare | |
| Erie County | 22 | Rare | |
| Lewis County | 22 | Rare | |
| Oswego County | 22 | Rare | |
| Clinton County | 21 | Rare | |
| Chemung County | 19 | Rare | |
| Chenango County | 19 | Rare | |
| Schoharie County | 18 | Rare | |
| Franklin County | 17 | Rare | |
| Livingston County | 17 | Rare | |
| Nassau County | 17 | Rare | |
| Sullivan County | 17 | Rare | |
| Washington County | 17 | Rare | |
| Madison County | 16 | Rare | |
| Monroe County | 16 | Rare | |
| Onondaga County | 16 | Rare | |
| Tioga County | 16 | Rare | |
| Wyoming County | 16 | Rare | |
| Ontario County | 15 | Rare | |
| Otsego County | 15 | Rare | |
| Cortland County | 13 | Rare | |
| Fulton County | 13 | Rare | |
| Rensselaer County | 13 | Rare | |
| Albany County | 12 | Rare | |
| Cayuga County | 12 | Rare | |
| Orange County | 12 | Rare | |
| Schenectady County | 12 | Rare | |
| Wayne County | 11 | Rare | |
| Genesee County | 10 | Rare | |
| Greene County | 10 | Rare | |
| Schuyler County | 10 | Rare |
11 more New York counties have 1 to 9 tested wells for uranium, too few to rate.
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Where to get your well tested for uranium in New York
A lab New York certifies
Ask for uranium by name. Results from a certified lab count for a home sale or a loan.
Labs certified by New YorkA mail-in kit
Fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and mail them back. We mark the kits that include uranium.
Compare kitsKeep reading about wells in New York
- Well water testing in New York: how to get tested and what turns up statewide
- Uranium in well water: where it comes from, what it does and how to remove it
- Nitrate in New York wells, by county
- Arsenic in New York wells, by county
- Manganese in New York wells, by county
- Lead in New York wells, by county
- Radon in New York wells, by county
Questions people ask about uranium in New York
Is there uranium in New York well water?
Uranium is worth checking in 1 of the 47 New York counties with 10 or more tested wells, and rare in the rest. Across New York, under 1 in 50 tested wells had uranium over the EPA limit of 30 µg/L (4 of 1,100). Across all tested wells in the US it's about 1 in 22. That's less often than in the country as a whole. Counties still differ, so check yours below.
Where can I get my well tested for uranium in New York?
Free PFAS testing in New York is limited to a pilot in 6 counties. If that doesn't cover you, use a lab certified by New York for drinking water, or a mail-in kit that includes uranium from a certified lab.
See New York's list of certified labs, or compare mail-in kits.
Where these numbers come from
- Lab tests: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA), well samples since 2000. A well counts as over if any of its tests was over the EPA limit of 30 µg/L. Wells tested for studies and monitoring, not a random sample of homes.
- Likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where. How we check.
- State programs and links: Department of Health.