BasementSoil

Louisiana: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

64 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is East Feliciana Parish (79), lowest is Catahoula Parish (36). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in East Feliciana Parish.

Where in Louisiana 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.

Acadia Parish, LA — combined 47/100, moisture 43, movement 38, water table 66Allen Parish, LA — combined 40/100, moisture 40, movement 35, water table 46Ascension Parish, LA — combined 70/100, moisture 64, movement 70, water table 82Assumption Parish, LA — combined 74/100, moisture 62, movement 77, water table 95Avoyelles Parish, LA — combined 42/100, moisture 42, movement 26, water table 66Beauregard Parish, LA — combined 54/100, moisture 41, movement 52, water table 82Bienville Parish, LA — combined 39/100, moisture 39, movement 33, water table 46Bossier Parish, LA — combined 45/100, moisture 42, movement 50, water table 46Caddo Parish, LA — combined 41/100, moisture 41, movement 23, water table 66Calcasieu Parish, LA — combined 49/100, moisture 40, movement 50, water table 66Caldwell Parish, LA — combined 48/100, moisture 40, movement 34, water table 82Cameron Parish, LA — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 48, water table 46Catahoula Parish, LA — combined 36/100, moisture 39, movement 25, water table 46Claiborne Parish, LA — combined 48/100, moisture 40, movement 34, water table 82Concordia Parish, LA — combined 45/100, moisture 40, movement 50, water table 46De Soto Parish, LA — combined 36/100, moisture 39, movement 25, water table 46East Baton Rouge Parish, LA — combined 70/100, moisture 62, movement 72, water table 82East Carroll Parish, LA — combined 38/100, moisture 42, movement 28, water table 46East Feliciana Parish, LA — combined 79/100, moisture 64, movement 89, water table 95Evangeline Parish, LA — combined 45/100, moisture 42, movement 34, water table 66Franklin Parish, LA — combined 47/100, moisture 42, movement 28, water table 82Grant Parish, LA — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 23, water table 82Iberia Parish, LA — combined 72/100, moisture 65, movement 64, water table 95Iberville Parish, LA — combined 74/100, moisture 66, movement 81, water table 82Jackson Parish, LA — combined 43/100, moisture 43, movement 27, water table 66Jefferson Davis Parish, LA — combined 42/100, moisture 42, movement 39, water table 46Jefferson Parish, LA — combined 63/100, moisture 65, movement 57, water table 66La Salle Parish, LA — combined 39/100, moisture 39, movement 33, water table 46Lafayette Parish, LA — combined 46/100, moisture 41, movement 28, water table 82Lafourche Parish, LA — combined 60/100, moisture 62, movement 53, water table 66Lincoln Parish, LA — combined 47/100, moisture 39, movement 32, water table 82Livingston Parish, LA — combined 76/100, moisture 64, movement 87, water table 82Madison Parish, LA — combined 49/100, moisture 44, movement 57, water table 46Morehouse Parish, LA — combined 47/100, moisture 42, movement 54, water table 46Natchitoches Parish, LA — combined 45/100, moisture 39, movement 38, water table 66Orleans Parish, LA — combined 69/100, moisture 61, movement 71, water table 82Ouachita Parish, LA — combined 38/100, moisture 42, movement 27, water table 46Plaquemines Parish, LA — combined 69/100, moisture 62, movement 69, water table 82Pointe Coupee Parish, LA — combined 71/100, moisture 62, movement 77, water table 82Rapides Parish, LA — combined 42/100, moisture 41, movement 40, water table 46Red River Parish, LA — combined 40/100, moisture 40, movement 22, water table 66Richland Parish, LA — combined 43/100, moisture 40, movement 30, water table 66Sabine Parish, LA — combined 40/100, moisture 40, movement 36, water table 46St. Bernard Parish, LA — combined 70/100, moisture 66, movement 80, water table 66St. Charles Parish, LA — combined 74/100, moisture 66, movement 80, water table 82St. Helena Parish, LA — combined 78/100, moisture 65, movement 84, water table 95St. James Parish, LA — combined 79/100, moisture 65, movement 88, water table 95St. John the Baptist Parish, LA — combined 69/100, moisture 62, movement 71, water table 82St. Landry Parish, LA — combined 41/100, moisture 42, movement 37, water table 46St. Martin Parish, LA — combined 75/100, moisture 66, movement 83, water table 82St. Mary Parish, LA — combined 64/100, moisture 63, movement 64, water table 66St. Tammany Parish, LA — combined 74/100, moisture 65, movement 73, water table 95Tangipahoa Parish, LA — combined 65/100, moisture 65, movement 63, water table 66Tensas Parish, LA — combined 45/100, moisture 44, movement 32, water table 66Terrebonne Parish, LA — combined 67/100, moisture 64, movement 59, water table 82Union Parish, LA — combined 41/100, moisture 42, movement 23, water table 66Vermilion Parish, LA — combined 42/100, moisture 43, movement 39, water table 46Vernon Parish, LA — combined 40/100, moisture 41, movement 35, water table 46Washington Parish, LA — combined 69/100, moisture 64, movement 58, water table 95Webster Parish, LA — combined 42/100, moisture 39, movement 28, water table 66West Baton Rouge Parish, LA — combined 67/100, moisture 63, movement 63, water table 82West Carroll Parish, LA — combined 52/100, moisture 43, movement 55, water table 66West Feliciana Parish, LA — combined 77/100, moisture 62, movement 86, water table 95Winn Parish, LA — combined 45/100, moisture 42, movement 48, water table 46
  • 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
East Feliciana Parish79648995Mississippi alluvial plain
St. James Parish79658895Mississippi alluvial plain
St. Helena Parish78658495Mississippi alluvial plain
West Feliciana Parish77628695Mississippi alluvial plain
Livingston Parish76648782Mississippi alluvial plain
St. Martin Parish75668382Mississippi alluvial plain
Assumption Parish74627795Mississippi alluvial plain
Iberville Parish74668182Mississippi alluvial plain
St. Charles Parish74668082Mississippi alluvial plain
St. Tammany Parish74657395Mississippi alluvial plain
Iberia Parish72656495Mississippi alluvial plain
Pointe Coupee Parish71627782Mississippi alluvial plain
Ascension Parish70647082Mississippi alluvial plain
East Baton Rouge Parish70627282Mississippi alluvial plain
St. Bernard Parish70668066Mississippi alluvial plain
Orleans Parish69617182Mississippi alluvial plain
Plaquemines Parish69626982Mississippi alluvial plain
St. John the Baptist Parish69627182Mississippi alluvial plain
Washington Parish69645895Mississippi alluvial plain
Terrebonne Parish67645982Mississippi alluvial plain
West Baton Rouge Parish67636382Mississippi alluvial plain
Tangipahoa Parish65656366Mississippi alluvial plain
St. Mary Parish64636466Mississippi alluvial plain
Jefferson Parish63655766Mississippi alluvial plain
Lafourche Parish60625366Mississippi alluvial plain
Beauregard Parish54415282Gulf Coastal Plain
West Carroll Parish52435566Gulf Coastal Plain
Calcasieu Parish49405066Gulf Coastal Plain
Madison Parish49445746Gulf Coastal Plain
Caldwell Parish48403482Gulf Coastal Plain
Claiborne Parish48403482Gulf Coastal Plain
Acadia Parish47433866Gulf Coastal Plain
Franklin Parish47422882Gulf Coastal Plain
Lincoln Parish47393282Gulf Coastal Plain
Morehouse Parish47425446Gulf Coastal Plain
Lafayette Parish46412882Gulf Coastal Plain
Bossier Parish45425046Gulf Coastal Plain
Concordia Parish45405046Gulf Coastal Plain
Evangeline Parish45423466Gulf Coastal Plain
Natchitoches Parish45393866Gulf Coastal Plain
Tensas Parish45443266Gulf Coastal Plain
Winn Parish45424846Gulf Coastal Plain
Cameron Parish44404846Gulf Coastal Plain
Grant Parish44402382Gulf Coastal Plain
Jackson Parish43432766Gulf Coastal Plain
Richland Parish43403066Gulf Coastal Plain
Avoyelles Parish42422666Gulf Coastal Plain
Jefferson Davis Parish42423946Gulf Coastal Plain
Rapides Parish42414046Gulf Coastal Plain
Vermilion Parish42433946Gulf Coastal Plain
Webster Parish42392866Gulf Coastal Plain
Caddo Parish41412366Gulf Coastal Plain
St. Landry Parish41423746Gulf Coastal Plain
Union Parish41422366Gulf Coastal Plain
Allen Parish40403546Gulf Coastal Plain
Red River Parish40402266Gulf Coastal Plain
Sabine Parish40403646Gulf Coastal Plain
Vernon Parish40413546Gulf Coastal Plain
Bienville Parish39393346Gulf Coastal Plain
La Salle Parish39393346Gulf Coastal Plain
East Carroll Parish38422846Gulf Coastal Plain
Ouachita Parish38422746Gulf Coastal Plain
Catahoula Parish36392546Gulf Coastal Plain
De Soto Parish36392546Gulf Coastal Plain

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

The physiographic regions inside Louisiana

State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Louisiana 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.

39 counties: Acadia Parish, Allen Parish, Avoyelles Parish, Beauregard Parish, Bienville Parish, Bossier Parish, Caddo Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Caldwell Parish, Cameron Parish, Catahoula Parish, Claiborne Parish, Concordia Parish, De Soto Parish, East Carroll Parish, Evangeline Parish, Franklin Parish, Grant Parish, Jackson Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, La Salle Parish, Lafayette Parish, Lincoln Parish, Madison Parish, Morehouse Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Ouachita Parish, Rapides Parish, Red River Parish, Richland Parish, Sabine Parish, St. Landry Parish, Tensas Parish, Union Parish, Vermilion Parish, Vernon Parish, Webster Parish, West Carroll Parish, Winn Parish

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.

25 counties: Ascension Parish, Assumption Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, East Feliciana Parish, Iberia Parish, Iberville Parish, Jefferson Parish, Lafourche Parish, Livingston Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. Helena Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Terrebonne Parish, Washington Parish, West Baton Rouge Parish, West Feliciana Parish

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