BasementSoil

Arkansas: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

75 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Clay County (76), lowest is Cleburne County (25). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Clay County.

Where in Arkansas the ground is worse

Every county in the state, coloured by the soil values below. Click a county to open its report; switch what the colour means with the buttons. The pattern is geology, not administration — risk stops at the edge of a physiographic region, not at a county line.

Arkansas County, AR — combined 29/100, moisture 30, movement 27, water table 30Ashley County, AR — combined 41/100, moisture 41, movement 24, water table 66Baxter County, AR — combined 31/100, moisture 30, movement 32, water table 30Benton County, AR — combined 28/100, moisture 34, movement 19, water table 30Boone County, AR — combined 32/100, moisture 31, movement 34, water table 30Bradley County, AR — combined 50/100, moisture 41, movement 52, water table 66Calhoun County, AR — combined 42/100, moisture 42, movement 39, water table 46Carroll County, AR — combined 31/100, moisture 31, movement 33, water table 30Chicot County, AR — combined 46/100, moisture 41, movement 39, water table 66Clark County, AR — combined 41/100, moisture 40, movement 38, water table 46Clay County, AR — combined 76/100, moisture 64, movement 88, water table 82Cleburne County, AR — combined 25/100, moisture 31, movement 22, water table 16Cleveland County, AR — combined 51/100, moisture 44, movement 49, water table 66Columbia County, AR — combined 43/100, moisture 42, movement 42, water table 46Conway County, AR — combined 34/100, moisture 30, movement 41, water table 30Craighead County, AR — combined 69/100, moisture 63, movement 67, water table 82Crawford County, AR — combined 31/100, moisture 31, movement 33, water table 30Crittenden County, AR — combined 63/100, moisture 64, movement 49, water table 82Cross County, AR — combined 68/100, moisture 63, movement 56, water table 95Dallas County, AR — combined 41/100, moisture 40, movement 40, water table 46Desha County, AR — combined 38/100, moisture 42, movement 27, water table 46Drew County, AR — combined 41/100, moisture 41, movement 38, water table 46Faulkner County, AR — combined 25/100, moisture 32, movement 22, water table 16Franklin County, AR — combined 28/100, moisture 33, movement 21, water table 30Fulton County, AR — combined 31/100, moisture 31, movement 31, water table 30Garland County, AR — combined 28/100, moisture 30, movement 24, water table 30Grant County, AR — combined 51/100, moisture 39, movement 57, water table 66Greene County, AR — combined 69/100, moisture 64, movement 67, water table 82Hempstead County, AR — combined 42/100, moisture 39, movement 29, water table 66Hot Spring County, AR — combined 36/100, moisture 32, movement 46, water table 30Howard County, AR — combined 41/100, moisture 41, movement 22, water table 66Independence County, AR — combined 31/100, moisture 31, movement 41, water table 16Izard County, AR — combined 35/100, moisture 32, movement 44, water table 30Jackson County, AR — combined 65/100, moisture 62, movement 58, water table 82Jefferson County, AR — combined 49/100, moisture 43, movement 46, water table 66Johnson County, AR — combined 28/100, moisture 30, movement 25, water table 30Lafayette County, AR — combined 37/100, moisture 39, movement 27, water table 46Lawrence County, AR — combined 66/100, moisture 62, movement 61, water table 82Lee County, AR — combined 65/100, moisture 65, movement 54, water table 82Lincoln County, AR — combined 46/100, moisture 39, movement 57, water table 46Little River County, AR — combined 49/100, moisture 40, movement 38, water table 82Logan County, AR — combined 32/100, moisture 33, movement 33, water table 30Lonoke County, AR — combined 28/100, moisture 31, movement 22, water table 30Madison County, AR — combined 26/100, moisture 31, movement 17, water table 30Marion County, AR — combined 31/100, moisture 31, movement 33, water table 30Miller County, AR — combined 54/100, moisture 42, movement 52, water table 82Mississippi County, AR — combined 64/100, moisture 64, movement 51, water table 82Monroe County, AR — combined 72/100, moisture 64, movement 66, water table 95Montgomery County, AR — combined 30/100, moisture 30, movement 30, water table 30Nevada County, AR — combined 43/100, moisture 42, movement 42, water table 46Newton County, AR — combined 30/100, moisture 32, movement 27, water table 30Ouachita County, AR — combined 47/100, moisture 39, movement 46, water table 66Perry County, AR — combined 33/100, moisture 33, movement 36, water table 30Phillips County, AR — combined 71/100, moisture 65, movement 71, water table 82Pike County, AR — combined 38/100, moisture 43, movement 24, water table 46Poinsett County, AR — combined 72/100, moisture 63, movement 78, water table 82Polk County, AR — combined 27/100, moisture 34, movement 25, water table 16Pope County, AR — combined 28/100, moisture 30, movement 25, water table 30Prairie County, AR — combined 31/100, moisture 31, movement 42, water table 16Pulaski County, AR — combined 30/100, moisture 31, movement 28, water table 30Randolph County, AR — combined 61/100, moisture 64, movement 52, water table 66Saline County, AR — combined 29/100, moisture 30, movement 27, water table 30Scott County, AR — combined 29/100, moisture 32, movement 34, water table 16Searcy County, AR — combined 33/100, moisture 31, movement 39, water table 30Sebastian County, AR — combined 37/100, moisture 33, movement 48, water table 30Sevier County, AR — combined 43/100, moisture 41, movement 43, water table 46Sharp County, AR — combined 28/100, moisture 31, movement 22, water table 30St. Francis County, AR — combined 69/100, moisture 62, movement 71, water table 82Stone County, AR — combined 29/100, moisture 30, movement 27, water table 30Union County, AR — combined 42/100, moisture 39, movement 30, water table 66Van Buren County, AR — combined 28/100, moisture 34, movement 17, water table 30Washington County, AR — combined 25/100, moisture 31, movement 24, water table 16White County, AR — combined 33/100, moisture 31, movement 39, water table 30Woodruff County, AR — combined 67/100, moisture 63, movement 52, water table 95Yell County, AR — combined 29/100, moisture 33, movement 23, water table 30
  • Low (0–27)
  • Moderate (28–49)
  • Elevated (50–74)
  • High (75–100)

County boundaries: US Census TIGER (public domain), simplified for display. Colours are our index from USDA SSURGO fields where loaded, otherwise from our regional model — each county page states which. How the index is calculated.

CountyIndexMoistureCracksWater tableRegion
Clay County76648882Mississippi alluvial plain
Monroe County72646695Mississippi alluvial plain
Poinsett County72637882Mississippi alluvial plain
Phillips County71657182Mississippi alluvial plain
Craighead County69636782Mississippi alluvial plain
Greene County69646782Mississippi alluvial plain
St. Francis County69627182Mississippi alluvial plain
Cross County68635695Mississippi alluvial plain
Woodruff County67635295Mississippi alluvial plain
Lawrence County66626182Mississippi alluvial plain
Jackson County65625882Mississippi alluvial plain
Lee County65655482Mississippi alluvial plain
Mississippi County64645182Mississippi alluvial plain
Crittenden County63644982Mississippi alluvial plain
Randolph County61645266Mississippi alluvial plain
Miller County54425282Gulf Coastal Plain
Cleveland County51444966Gulf Coastal Plain
Grant County51395766Gulf Coastal Plain
Bradley County50415266Gulf Coastal Plain
Jefferson County49434666Gulf Coastal Plain
Little River County49403882Gulf Coastal Plain
Ouachita County47394666Gulf Coastal Plain
Chicot County46413966Gulf Coastal Plain
Lincoln County46395746Gulf Coastal Plain
Columbia County43424246Gulf Coastal Plain
Nevada County43424246Gulf Coastal Plain
Sevier County43414346Gulf Coastal Plain
Calhoun County42423946Gulf Coastal Plain
Hempstead County42392966Gulf Coastal Plain
Union County42393066Gulf Coastal Plain
Ashley County41412466Gulf Coastal Plain
Clark County41403846Gulf Coastal Plain
Dallas County41404046Gulf Coastal Plain
Drew County41413846Gulf Coastal Plain
Howard County41412266Gulf Coastal Plain
Desha County38422746Gulf Coastal Plain
Pike County38432446Gulf Coastal Plain
Lafayette County37392746Gulf Coastal Plain
Sebastian County37334830Ouachita Mountains
Hot Spring County36324630Ouachita Mountains
Izard County35324430Ozark highland
Conway County34304130Ouachita Mountains
Perry County33333630Ouachita Mountains
Searcy County33313930Ozark highland
White County33313930Ouachita Mountains
Boone County32313430Ozark highland
Logan County32333330Ouachita Mountains
Baxter County31303230Ozark highland
Carroll County31313330Ozark highland
Crawford County31313330Ozark highland
Fulton County31313130Ozark highland
Independence County31314116Ozark highland
Marion County31313330Ozark highland
Prairie County31314216Ouachita Mountains
Montgomery County30303030Ouachita Mountains
Newton County30322730Ozark highland
Pulaski County30312830Ouachita Mountains
Arkansas County29302730Ouachita Mountains
Saline County29302730Ouachita Mountains
Scott County29323416Ouachita Mountains
Stone County29302730Ozark highland
Yell County29332330Ouachita Mountains
Benton County28341930Ozark highland
Franklin County28332130Ozark highland
Garland County28302430Ouachita Mountains
Johnson County28302530Ozark highland
Lonoke County28312230Ouachita Mountains
Pope County28302530Ouachita Mountains
Sharp County28312230Ozark highland
Van Buren County28341730Ozark highland
Polk County27342516Ouachita Mountains
Madison County26311730Ozark highland
Cleburne County25312216Ozark highland
Faulkner County25322216Ouachita Mountains
Washington County25312416Ozark highland

Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.

The physiographic regions inside Arkansas

State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Arkansas and why each behaves the way it does.

Gulf Coastal Plain

Extremely variable over short distances: deep sand on the ridges, saturated clay in the flats between them. High rainfall and a seasonally high water table make crawlspace and slab moisture the dominant complaint rather than structural movement.

23 counties: Ashley County, Bradley County, Calhoun County, Chicot County, Clark County, Cleveland County, Columbia County, Dallas County, Desha County, Drew County, Grant County, Hempstead County, Howard County, Jefferson County, Lafayette County, Lincoln County, Little River County, Miller County, Nevada County, Ouachita County, Pike County, Sevier County, Union County

Ozark highland

Shallow bedrock and karst pathways. Shrink-swell is low, but water moves through the subsurface in concentrated routes — a basement can be dry for twenty years and then leak through one specific joint in a single event.

19 counties: Baxter County, Benton County, Boone County, Carroll County, Cleburne County, Crawford County, Franklin County, Fulton County, Independence County, Izard County, Johnson County, Madison County, Marion County, Newton County, Searcy County, Sharp County, Stone County, Van Buren County, Washington County

Ouachita Mountains

Steep east-west ridges with shallow bedrock. Sloping sites mean water arrives laterally along the rock surface, so a house cut into a hillside collects it at the uphill wall. Volume change is not the issue; drainage on a slope is.

18 counties: Arkansas County, Conway County, Faulkner County, Garland County, Hot Spring County, Logan County, Lonoke County, Montgomery County, Perry County, Polk County, Pope County, Prairie County, Pulaski County, Saline County, Scott County, Sebastian County, White County, Yell County

Mississippi alluvial plain

Basements are rare here and that is sensible. Where they exist they are under more or less permanent groundwater pressure — not a case for a one-off repair, but for a pump with a backup that never stops mattering.

15 counties: Clay County, Craighead County, Crittenden County, Cross County, Greene County, Jackson County, Lawrence County, Lee County, Mississippi County, Monroe County, Phillips County, Poinsett County, Randolph County, St. Francis County, Woodruff County

Page data updated