Polk County Health Department  •  Technical Appendix

Where Radon Risk & Testing Meet — By ZCTA

Age‑adjusted lung cancer rate by ZCTA (color) overlaid with radon testing intensity per 1,000 housing units (circle size) — the two layers together show where cancer risk is highest and testing coverage is thinnest across Polk County.
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Countywide ZCTA Map

323 Urbandale 317 Des Moines 312 Des Moines 047 Carlisle 228 Prairie City 009 Altoona 243 156 Madrid 169 Mitchellville 131 Johnston 322 Urbandale 327 Pleasant Hill 321 Des Moines 161 Maxwell 314 320 Des Moines 325 Clive 061 Cumming 035 Bondurant 046 Cambridge 226 Polk City 265 W. Des Moines 244 Slater 111 Grimes 073 Elkhart 310 Des Moines 309 032 109 Granger 168 Mingo 124 Huxley 313 Des Moines 023 Ankeny 315 Des Moines 311 324 316 266 W. Des Moines 237 Runnells 021 Ankeny 007 Alleman

Layer 1 — Lung Cancer Rate

58.0Age‑adj. rate / 100k114.4

Layer 2 — Radon Tests / 1k Units

~10
~50
~100
~157
Circle area scales with radon tests submitted per 1,000 housing units, 2020–2024. Five ZCTAs show no circle — Cumming (50061), Huxley (50124), Mingo (50168), Prairie City (50228), and Slater (50244) — suppressed due to small housing‑unit counts (fewer than ~40 records), which make a per‑1,000 rate unreliable.

How to Read This Map

Darker green = higher age‑adjusted lung cancer rate.
Larger circle = more radon testing relative to housing units.

The most urgent gaps are dark ZCTAs with small or missing circles — high cancer risk, low testing. Des Moines ZCTAs 50309, 50314, and 50317 test at just 2–9 per 1,000 units despite ranking among the county’s highest cancer rates — the clearest priority gaps on the map.
ZCTA boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line Shapefiles (2010 ZCTA5). Lung cancer rate: State Cancer Profiles. Radon testing: Polk County radon testing database, 2020–2024. Map is schematic (ZCTA polygons, not roads or waterways) and intended for internal planning and funder communications, not survey‑grade geolocation.
Polk County Health Department  •  Technical Appendix

Full ZCTA Data Table — All 41 Zip Codes

Every Polk County ZCTA with available data, ranked by age‑adjusted lung cancer rate. Same measures as the priority table in the advocacy brief, extended countywide.
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ZCTACityLung Cancer Rate*Tests / 1k Units**Pop. in PovertyPop. of ColorPopulation
50317Des Moines114.48.814.0%36%37,221
50315Des Moines103.011.613.9%35%36,693
50320Des Moines102.714.010.3%45%23,369
50316Des Moines99.611.717.9%53%16,785
50309Des Moines95.12.518.6%36%9,532
50009Altoona92.417.08.4%18%21,230
50314Des Moines90.58.640.5%74%11,764
50035Bondurant87.513.55.5%15%8,968
50243Sheldahl86.212.75.1%1%297
50313Des Moines86.227.015.4%42%17,723
50032Berwick86.224.054.5%2%395
50023Ankeny85.519.54.1%13%43,603
50327Pleasant Hill84.70.37.8%13%11,807
50311Des Moines82.60.318.8%29%14,782
50169Mitchellville80.912.57.0%9%3,372
50237Runnells78.613.11.0%8%3,153
50321Des Moines78.421.410.4%27%7,783
50073Elkhart76.311.810.8%8%1,405
50168Mingo75.91.2%4%909
50007Alleman75.85.20.7%3%497
50109Granger75.232.72.0%10%3,348
50244Slater74.73.1%7%1,825
50046Cambridge74.3156.65.7%7%1,586
50228Prairie City74.12.8%3%2,509
50156Madrid73.091.53.8%7%4,662
50111Grimes72.523.24.3%18%16,025
50124Huxley71.94.2%6%4,697
50226Polk City71.522.75.9%4%6,879
50323Urbandale71.2113.03.0%15%16,616
50266West Des Moines71.065.38.9%21%36,486
50161Maxwell70.249.02.3%9%2,017
50310Des Moines69.218.910.8%31%30,754
50047Carlisle68.3123.46.7%7%6,021
50131Johnston66.622.910.1%24%24,434
50324Windsor Heights66.021.56.2%19%5,252
50021Ankeny65.020.53.9%16%28,807
50312Des Moines64.530.56.8%19%15,485
50322Urbandale63.418.69.6%25%31,652
50061Cumming60.74.5%8%1,973
50265West Des Moines60.121.67.9%24%32,187
50325Clive58.046.77.3%22%18,619
*Age‑adjusted lung cancer incidence rate per 100,000. **Radon tests per 1,000 housing units, 2020–2024; "—" indicates a ZCTA suppressed due to a small housing‑unit base (fewer than ~40 records). Source: Polk County radon testing database; State Cancer Profiles; ACS estimates.