Absorbed dose rates in air for 20 residential areas in Odisha were measured using a vehicle-mounted NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer. The average values and standard deviations of absorbed dose rate in air for seaside and inland areas were 230 ± 116 nGy/h and 123 ± 18 nGy/h, respectively. The annual external effective dose ranged from 0.43 to 4.59 mSv/y with the average value of 1.29 mSv/y; this indicated there were wide deviations. Analysis of measured data showed that 232Th and 238U were concentrated in the seaside area.