Your county health department
Pennsylvania doesn't run a statewide free testing program that we know of. Some county health departments still test wells or sell kits, so call yours first.
Department of Environmental Protection: private well testingGetting your well water tested in Pennsylvania
Use a lab Pennsylvania certifies, or a mail-in kit. Across the state, the ones worth testing for are manganese, nitrate and radon, plus bacteria every year.
About 2,401,000 people in Pennsylvania get their water from a private well, about 2 in 10 residents.
Three ways to get tested, cheapest first.
A lab Pennsylvania certifies
The state's list of labs certified for drinking water. Many sell bottles you pick up or get by mail, and their results count for a home sale or loan.
Labs certified by PennsylvaniaA mail-in kit
Order online, fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and get results by email in about a week. Full well tests run about $210 to $220.
Compare kits for PennsylvaniaWhat turns up in Pennsylvania wells.
Share of tested wells over the limit, from lab tests the USGS, EPA and state agencies collected since 2000. Your own well needs its own test.
Manganese9%97 of 1,038Nitrate8%108 of 1,329Radon7%59 of 904Arsenic4%52 of 1,247Fluorideunder 1%3 of 979Leadunder 1%2 of 884Uranium0%0 of 835
GermsTest every year, whatever the chart says
Coliform bacteria54%411 of 762StainsNot a health risk
Iron stains19%205 of 1,073
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Where it shows up most
- Nitrate shows up most in Northumberland County (about 1 in 4 wells), Chester County (about 1 in 7 wells), Clinton County (about 1 in 15 wells).
- Arsenic shows up most in Montgomery County (about 2 in 10 wells), Berks County (about 1 in 8 wells), Lycoming County (about 1 in 10 wells).
Find your county.
13 counties have a full report with local test results and well depths.
BerksBucksChesterCumberlandDauphinFranklinLancasterLebanonLycomingMontgomeryNorthamptonSchuylkillYork
No full report for that county yet. The statewide results above still apply, and so do the three ways to get tested.
Every county in Pennsylvania: people on wells and typical depth
| County | People on private wells | Share of residents | Typical well depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lancaster County | 172,374 | 31% | – |
| Chester County | 117,808 | 22% | – |
| York County | 116,313 | 25% | – |
| Berks County | 107,045 | 25% | – |
| Bucks County | 101,797 | 16% | – |
| Monroe County | 89,709 | 53% | – |
| Montgomery County | 73,983 | 9% | – |
| Butler County | 72,473 | 37% | – |
| Dauphin County | 59,080 | 21% | – |
| Cumberland County | 58,209 | 22% | – |
| Luzerne County | 57,478 | 18% | – |
| Erie County | 57,429 | 21% | – |
| Lehigh County | 54,971 | 15% | – |
| Northampton County | 54,288 | 17% | – |
| Franklin County | 52,615 | 34% | – |
| Crawford County | 51,881 | 62% | – |
| Mercer County | 45,284 | 41% | – |
| Adams County | 40,784 | 39% | – |
| Lycoming County | 40,451 | 35% | – |
| Lebanon County | 39,899 | 28% | – |
| Schuylkill County | 36,964 | 26% | – |
| Bradford County | 35,675 | 59% | – |
| Beaver County | 34,414 | 20% | – |
| Bedford County | 33,793 | 71% | – |
| Lawrence County | 33,006 | 38% | – |
| Wayne County | 31,142 | 61% | – |
| Perry County | 31,050 | 68% | – |
| Lackawanna County | 29,642 | 14% | – |
| Pike County | 29,344 | 50% | – |
| Somerset County | 29,186 | 39% | – |
| Carbon County | 28,732 | 44% | – |
| Columbia County | 27,507 | 42% | – |
| Susquehanna County | 25,883 | 67% | – |
| Westmoreland County | 25,382 | 7% | – |
| Blair County | 24,810 | 20% | – |
| Northumberland County | 24,433 | 27% | – |
| Tioga County | 24,414 | 59% | – |
| Centre County | 23,607 | 15% | – |
| Indiana County | 23,211 | 28% | – |
| Washington County | 22,912 | 11% | – |
| Allegheny County | 22,132 | 2% | – |
| Huntingdon County | 21,694 | 49% | – |
| Venango County | 20,998 | 42% | – |
| Jefferson County | 20,335 | 46% | – |
| Snyder County | 20,280 | 51% | – |
| Warren County | 19,302 | 50% | – |
| Armstrong County | 18,806 | 29% | – |
| Cambria County | 17,854 | 13% | – |
| Clarion County | 17,826 | 48% | – |
| Wyoming County | 17,701 | 68% | – |
| Mifflin County | 16,615 | 36% | – |
| Union County | 16,539 | 39% | – |
| McKean County | 15,260 | 38% | – |
| Juniata County | 15,100 | 64% | – |
| Clearfield County | 13,901 | 17% | – |
| Delaware County | 11,139 | 2% | – |
| Fulton County | 10,676 | 73% | – |
| Potter County | 9,478 | 58% | – |
| Fayette County | 9,397 | 7% | – |
| Greene County | 9,186 | 26% | – |
| Clinton County | 8,649 | 23% | – |
| Montour County | 8,521 | 47% | – |
| Elk County | 6,102 | 20% | – |
| Forest County | 5,625 | 81% | – |
| Sullivan County | 4,550 | 78% | – |
| Philadelphia County | 2,561 | under 1% | – |
| Cameron County | 1,636 | 36% | – |
Questions people ask about well water in Pennsylvania
Does Pennsylvania require private wells to be tested?
Pennsylvania doesn't require routine testing of existing private wells. Keeping a well safe is up to the owner, so test for bacteria and nitrate every year.
Where can I get my well water tested in Pennsylvania?
Otherwise, use a lab certified by Pennsylvania for drinking water. The state's list is linked on this page.
Where these numbers come from
- How many people use wells: EPA estimates from the 2020 Census.
- Lab tests: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA), well samples since 2000.
- State programs and links: Department of Environmental Protection.