BasementSoil

New Jersey: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

21 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Union County (45), lowest is Monmouth County (33). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Passaic County.

Where in New Jersey 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.

Atlantic County, NJ — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 34, water table 66Bergen County, NJ — combined 41/100, moisture 38, movement 42, water table 46Burlington County, NJ — combined 37/100, moisture 42, movement 25, water table 46Camden County, NJ — combined 39/100, moisture 41, movement 18, water table 66Cape May County, NJ — combined 44/100, moisture 40, movement 35, water table 66Cumberland County, NJ — combined 39/100, moisture 42, movement 15, water table 66Essex County, NJ — combined 41/100, moisture 39, movement 52, water table 30Gloucester County, NJ — combined 38/100, moisture 39, movement 18, water table 66Hudson County, NJ — combined 34/100, moisture 38, movement 31, water table 30Hunterdon County, NJ — combined 37/100, moisture 38, movement 30, water table 46Mercer County, NJ — combined 44/100, moisture 42, movement 31, water table 66Middlesex County, NJ — combined 41/100, moisture 39, movement 41, water table 46Monmouth County, NJ — combined 33/100, moisture 39, movement 16, water table 46Morris County, NJ — combined 34/100, moisture 34, movement 48, water table 16Ocean County, NJ — combined 37/100, moisture 41, movement 26, water table 46Passaic County, NJ — combined 43/100, moisture 39, movement 58, water table 30Salem County, NJ — combined 36/100, moisture 41, movement 21, water table 46Somerset County, NJ — combined 40/100, moisture 34, movement 44, water table 46Sussex County, NJ — combined 36/100, moisture 34, movement 52, water table 16Union County, NJ — combined 45/100, moisture 37, movement 55, water table 46Warren County, NJ — combined 36/100, moisture 39, movement 36, 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
Union County45375546Piedmont
Atlantic County44403466Atlantic coastal plain
Cape May County44403566Atlantic coastal plain
Mercer County44423166Atlantic coastal plain
Passaic County43395830Piedmont
Bergen County41384246Piedmont
Essex County41395230Piedmont
Middlesex County41394146Piedmont
Somerset County40344446Piedmont
Camden County39411866Atlantic coastal plain
Cumberland County39421566Atlantic coastal plain
Gloucester County38391866Atlantic coastal plain
Burlington County37422546Atlantic coastal plain
Hunterdon County37383046Piedmont
Ocean County37412646Atlantic coastal plain
Salem County36412146Atlantic coastal plain
Sussex County36345216Piedmont
Warren County36393630Piedmont
Hudson County34383130Piedmont
Morris County34344816Piedmont
Monmouth County33391646Atlantic coastal plain

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

The physiographic regions inside New Jersey

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

Piedmont

Saprolite is weathered rock that keeps its structure, so water moves through it along relict joints unpredictably. The Triassic basins inside the Piedmont are islands of strongly expansive clay.

11 counties: Bergen County, Essex County, Hudson County, Hunterdon County, Middlesex County, Morris County, Passaic County, Somerset County, Sussex County, Union County, Warren County

Atlantic coastal plain

Extremely variable over short distances: sand and saturated clay side by side. A county figure means less here than anywhere else we cover — the individual parcel decides.

10 counties: Atlantic County, Burlington County, Camden County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, Gloucester County, Mercer County, Monmouth County, Ocean County, Salem County

Page data updated