BasementSoil

Mississippi: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

82 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Jefferson County (76), lowest is Calhoun County (36). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Choctaw County.

Where in Mississippi 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.

Adams County, MS — combined 41/100, moisture 42, movement 21, water table 66Alcorn County, MS — combined 43/100, moisture 44, movement 38, water table 46Amite County, MS — combined 50/100, moisture 42, movement 50, water table 66Attala County, MS — combined 44/100, moisture 44, movement 41, water table 46Benton County, MS — combined 41/100, moisture 40, movement 38, water table 46Bolivar County, MS — combined 70/100, moisture 61, movement 73, water table 82Calhoun County, MS — combined 36/100, moisture 40, movement 24, water table 46Carroll County, MS — combined 40/100, moisture 43, movement 32, water table 46Chickasaw County, MS — combined 38/100, moisture 41, movement 29, water table 46Choctaw County, MS — combined 65/100, moisture 50, movement 100, water table 46Claiborne County, MS — combined 68/100, moisture 66, movement 61, water table 82Clarke County, MS — combined 63/100, moisture 54, movement 100, water table 30Clay County, MS — combined 44/100, moisture 41, movement 48, water table 46Coahoma County, MS — combined 75/100, moisture 65, movement 75, water table 95Copiah County, MS — combined 70/100, moisture 62, movement 74, water table 82Covington County, MS — combined 39/100, moisture 42, movement 31, water table 46DeSoto County, MS — combined 45/100, moisture 41, movement 50, water table 46Forrest County, MS — combined 42/100, moisture 41, movement 41, water table 46Franklin County, MS — combined 42/100, moisture 41, movement 41, water table 46George County, MS — combined 46/100, moisture 41, movement 52, water table 46Greene County, MS — combined 39/100, moisture 41, movement 30, water table 46Grenada County, MS — combined 42/100, moisture 41, movement 42, water table 46Hancock County, MS — combined 40/100, moisture 42, movement 33, water table 46Harrison County, MS — combined 37/100, moisture 42, movement 25, water table 46Hinds County, MS — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 34, water table 66Holmes County, MS — combined 47/100, moisture 40, movement 42, water table 66Humphreys County, MS — combined 72/100, moisture 65, movement 66, water table 95Issaquena County, MS — combined 75/100, moisture 66, movement 82, water table 82Itawamba County, MS — combined 36/100, moisture 40, movement 24, water table 46Jackson County, MS — combined 52/100, moisture 43, movement 42, water table 82Jasper County, MS — combined 48/100, moisture 42, movement 43, water table 66Jefferson County, MS — combined 76/100, moisture 66, movement 87, water table 82Jefferson Davis County, MS — combined 39/100, moisture 41, movement 31, water table 46Jones County, MS — combined 38/100, moisture 40, movement 29, water table 46Kemper County, MS — combined 66/100, moisture 52, movement 100, water table 46Lafayette County, MS — combined 50/100, moisture 41, movement 50, water table 66Lamar County, MS — combined 48/100, moisture 39, movement 48, water table 66Lauderdale County, MS — combined 66/100, moisture 52, movement 100, water table 46Lawrence County, MS — combined 52/100, moisture 42, movement 57, water table 66Leake County, MS — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 33, water table 66Lee County, MS — combined 37/100, moisture 40, movement 25, water table 46Leflore County, MS — combined 48/100, moisture 40, movement 47, water table 66Lincoln County, MS — combined 41/100, moisture 43, movement 35, water table 46Lowndes County, MS — combined 38/100, moisture 40, movement 31, water table 46Madison County, MS — combined 51/100, moisture 43, movement 40, water table 82Marion County, MS — combined 44/100, moisture 44, movement 29, water table 66Marshall County, MS — combined 52/100, moisture 39, movement 49, water table 82Monroe County, MS — combined 54/100, moisture 41, movement 52, water table 82Montgomery County, MS — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 34, water table 66Neshoba County, MS — combined 70/100, moisture 50, movement 100, water table 66Newton County, MS — combined 66/100, moisture 53, movement 100, water table 46Noxubee County, MS — combined 62/100, moisture 52, movement 98, water table 30Oktibbeha County, MS — combined 49/100, moisture 40, movement 50, water table 66Panola County, MS — combined 37/100, moisture 41, movement 25, water table 46Pearl River County, MS — combined 42/100, moisture 40, movement 41, water table 46Perry County, MS — combined 38/100, moisture 43, movement 26, water table 46Pike County, MS — combined 50/100, moisture 41, movement 39, water table 82Pontotoc County, MS — combined 42/100, moisture 42, movement 26, water table 66Prentiss County, MS — combined 46/100, moisture 44, movement 24, water table 82Quitman County, MS — combined 48/100, moisture 43, movement 43, water table 66Rankin County, MS — combined 48/100, moisture 40, movement 36, water table 82Scott County, MS — combined 37/100, moisture 40, movement 26, water table 46Sharkey County, MS — combined 70/100, moisture 64, movement 71, water table 82Simpson County, MS — combined 36/100, moisture 41, movement 23, water table 46Smith County, MS — combined 39/100, moisture 42, movement 30, water table 46Stone County, MS — combined 55/100, moisture 43, movement 53, water table 82Sunflower County, MS — combined 71/100, moisture 63, movement 73, water table 82Tallahatchie County, MS — combined 46/100, moisture 44, movement 50, water table 46Tate County, MS — combined 37/100, moisture 40, movement 25, water table 46Tippah County, MS — combined 46/100, moisture 39, movement 55, water table 46Tishomingo County, MS — combined 39/100, moisture 41, movement 30, water table 46Tunica County, MS — combined 74/100, moisture 64, movement 83, water table 82Union County, MS — combined 39/100, moisture 40, movement 34, water table 46Walthall County, MS — combined 44/100, moisture 41, movement 48, water table 46Warren County, MS — combined 63/100, moisture 62, movement 50, water table 82Washington County, MS — combined 65/100, moisture 65, movement 52, water table 82Wayne County, MS — combined 40/100, moisture 40, movement 35, water table 46Webster County, MS — combined 49/100, moisture 40, movement 38, water table 82Wilkinson County, MS — combined 45/100, moisture 43, movement 32, water table 66Winston County, MS — combined 62/100, moisture 51, movement 100, water table 30Yalobusha County, MS — combined 52/100, moisture 42, movement 57, water table 66Yazoo County, MS — combined 64/100, moisture 62, movement 53, water table 82
  • 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
Jefferson County76668782Mississippi alluvial plain
Coahoma County75657595Mississippi alluvial plain
Issaquena County75668282Mississippi alluvial plain
Tunica County74648382Mississippi alluvial plain
Humphreys County72656695Mississippi alluvial plain
Sunflower County71637382Mississippi alluvial plain
Bolivar County70617382Mississippi alluvial plain
Copiah County70627482Mississippi alluvial plain
Neshoba County705010066Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
Sharkey County70647182Mississippi alluvial plain
Claiborne County68666182Mississippi alluvial plain
Kemper County665210046Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
Lauderdale County665210046Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
Newton County665310046Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
Choctaw County655010046Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
Washington County65655282Mississippi alluvial plain
Yazoo County64625382Mississippi alluvial plain
Clarke County635410030Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
Warren County63625082Mississippi alluvial plain
Noxubee County62529830Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
Winston County625110030Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
Stone County55435382Gulf Coastal Plain
Monroe County54415282Gulf Coastal Plain
Jackson County52434282Gulf Coastal Plain
Lawrence County52425766Gulf Coastal Plain
Marshall County52394982Gulf Coastal Plain
Yalobusha County52425766Gulf Coastal Plain
Madison County51434082Gulf Coastal Plain
Amite County50425066Gulf Coastal Plain
Lafayette County50415066Gulf Coastal Plain
Pike County50413982Gulf Coastal Plain
Oktibbeha County49405066Gulf Coastal Plain
Webster County49403882Gulf Coastal Plain
Jasper County48424366Gulf Coastal Plain
Lamar County48394866Gulf Coastal Plain
Leflore County48404766Gulf Coastal Plain
Quitman County48434366Gulf Coastal Plain
Rankin County48403682Gulf Coastal Plain
Holmes County47404266Gulf Coastal Plain
George County46415246Gulf Coastal Plain
Prentiss County46442482Gulf Coastal Plain
Tallahatchie County46445046Gulf Coastal Plain
Tippah County46395546Gulf Coastal Plain
DeSoto County45415046Gulf Coastal Plain
Wilkinson County45433266Gulf Coastal Plain
Attala County44444146Gulf Coastal Plain
Clay County44414846Gulf Coastal Plain
Hinds County44403466Gulf Coastal Plain
Leake County44403366Gulf Coastal Plain
Marion County44442966Gulf Coastal Plain
Montgomery County44403466Gulf Coastal Plain
Walthall County44414846Gulf Coastal Plain
Alcorn County43443846Gulf Coastal Plain
Forrest County42414146Gulf Coastal Plain
Franklin County42414146Gulf Coastal Plain
Grenada County42414246Gulf Coastal Plain
Pearl River County42404146Gulf Coastal Plain
Pontotoc County42422666Gulf Coastal Plain
Adams County41422166Gulf Coastal Plain
Benton County41403846Gulf Coastal Plain
Lincoln County41433546Gulf Coastal Plain
Carroll County40433246Gulf Coastal Plain
Hancock County40423346Gulf Coastal Plain
Wayne County40403546Gulf Coastal Plain
Covington County39423146Gulf Coastal Plain
Greene County39413046Gulf Coastal Plain
Jefferson Davis County39413146Gulf Coastal Plain
Smith County39423046Gulf Coastal Plain
Tishomingo County39413046Gulf Coastal Plain
Union County39403446Gulf Coastal Plain
Chickasaw County38412946Gulf Coastal Plain
Jones County38402946Gulf Coastal Plain
Lowndes County38403146Gulf Coastal Plain
Perry County38432646Gulf Coastal Plain
Harrison County37422546Gulf Coastal Plain
Lee County37402546Gulf Coastal Plain
Panola County37412546Gulf Coastal Plain
Scott County37402646Gulf Coastal Plain
Tate County37402546Gulf Coastal Plain
Calhoun County36402446Gulf Coastal Plain
Itawamba County36402446Gulf Coastal Plain
Simpson County36412346Gulf Coastal Plain

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

The physiographic regions inside Mississippi

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

61 counties: Adams County, Alcorn County, Amite County, Attala County, Benton County, Calhoun County, Carroll County, Chickasaw County, Clay County, Covington County, DeSoto County, Forrest County, Franklin County, George County, Greene County, Grenada County, Hancock County, Harrison County, Hinds County, Holmes County, Itawamba County, Jackson County, Jasper County, Jefferson Davis County, Jones County, Lafayette County, Lamar County, Lawrence County, Leake County, Lee County, Leflore County, Lincoln County, Lowndes County, Madison County, Marion County, Marshall County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Oktibbeha County, Panola County, Pearl River County, Perry County, Pike County, Pontotoc County, Prentiss County, Quitman County, Rankin County, Scott County, Simpson County, Smith County, Stone County, Tallahatchie County, Tate County, Tippah County, Tishomingo County, Union County, Walthall County, Wayne County, Webster County, Wilkinson County, Yalobusha 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.

13 counties: Bolivar County, Claiborne County, Coahoma County, Copiah County, Humphreys County, Issaquena County, Jefferson County, Sharkey County, Sunflower County, Tunica County, Warren County, Washington County, Yazoo County

Blackland Prairie and Black Belt

The foundation repair capital of the United States. These are Vertisols: clays so expansive that the ground itself opens fissures you can put an arm into during drought, then swells shut after rain. Slabs crack here in houses with faultless drainage, because water is not the mechanism — volume change is.

8 counties: Choctaw County, Clarke County, Kemper County, Lauderdale County, Neshoba County, Newton County, Noxubee County, Winston County

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