BasementSoil

North Dakota: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

53 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Traill County (86), lowest is Logan County (44). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Burke County.

Where in North Dakota 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, ND — combined 47/100, moisture 41, movement 67, water table 30Barnes County, ND — combined 46/100, moisture 53, movement 49, water table 30Benson County, ND — combined 58/100, moisture 50, movement 63, water table 66Billings County, ND — combined 55/100, moisture 39, movement 94, water table 30Bottineau County, ND — combined 55/100, moisture 40, movement 94, water table 30Bowman County, ND — combined 54/100, moisture 42, movement 89, water table 30Burke County, ND — combined 57/100, moisture 40, movement 100, water table 30Burleigh County, ND — combined 53/100, moisture 42, movement 84, water table 30Cass County, ND — combined 75/100, moisture 74, movement 70, water table 82Cavalier County, ND — combined 45/100, moisture 54, movement 42, water table 30Dickey County, ND — combined 46/100, moisture 50, movement 52, water table 30Divide County, ND — combined 57/100, moisture 40, movement 100, water table 30Dunn County, ND — combined 51/100, moisture 41, movement 79, water table 30Eddy County, ND — combined 54/100, moisture 55, movement 69, water table 30Emmons County, ND — combined 53/100, moisture 40, movement 99, water table 16Foster County, ND — combined 54/100, moisture 53, movement 62, water table 46Golden Valley County, ND — combined 55/100, moisture 39, movement 96, water table 30Grand Forks County, ND — combined 80/100, moisture 75, movement 75, water table 95Grant County, ND — combined 54/100, moisture 38, movement 95, water table 30Griggs County, ND — combined 59/100, moisture 53, movement 61, water table 66Hettinger County, ND — combined 56/100, moisture 40, movement 97, water table 30Kidder County, ND — combined 57/100, moisture 54, movement 55, water table 66LaMoure County, ND — combined 56/100, moisture 52, movement 69, water table 46Logan County, ND — combined 44/100, moisture 51, movement 43, water table 30McHenry County, ND — combined 58/100, moisture 42, movement 100, water table 30McIntosh County, ND — combined 50/100, moisture 50, movement 52, water table 46McKenzie County, ND — combined 52/100, moisture 37, movement 98, water table 16McLean County, ND — combined 47/100, moisture 41, movement 69, water table 30Mercer County, ND — combined 56/100, moisture 38, movement 99, water table 30Morton County, ND — combined 58/100, moisture 42, movement 100, water table 30Mountrail County, ND — combined 47/100, moisture 41, movement 67, water table 30Nelson County, ND — combined 54/100, moisture 51, movement 51, water table 66Oliver County, ND — combined 52/100, moisture 42, movement 93, water table 16Pembina County, ND — combined 79/100, moisture 74, movement 84, water table 82Pierce County, ND — combined 53/100, moisture 54, movement 67, water table 30Ramsey County, ND — combined 58/100, moisture 52, movement 62, water table 66Ransom County, ND — combined 71/100, moisture 75, movement 68, water table 66Renville County, ND — combined 48/100, moisture 40, movement 72, water table 30Richland County, ND — combined 79/100, moisture 78, movement 69, water table 95Rolette County, ND — combined 50/100, moisture 52, movement 51, water table 46Sargent County, ND — combined 83/100, moisture 78, movement 82, water table 95Sheridan County, ND — combined 52/100, moisture 40, movement 86, water table 30Sioux County, ND — combined 45/100, moisture 37, movement 66, water table 30Slope County, ND — combined 53/100, moisture 38, movement 100, water table 16Stark County, ND — combined 50/100, moisture 41, movement 76, water table 30Steele County, ND — combined 56/100, moisture 54, movement 52, water table 66Stutsman County, ND — combined 45/100, moisture 50, movement 50, water table 30Towner County, ND — combined 52/100, moisture 54, movement 65, water table 30Traill County, ND — combined 86/100, moisture 77, movement 100, water table 82Walsh County, ND — combined 50/100, moisture 53, movement 49, water table 46Ward County, ND — combined 53/100, moisture 42, movement 94, water table 16Wells County, ND — combined 60/100, moisture 52, movement 67, water table 66Williams County, ND — combined 52/100, moisture 37, movement 100, water table 16
  • 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
Traill County867710082Red River Valley (bed of glacial Lake Agassiz)
Sargent County83788295Red River Valley (bed of glacial Lake Agassiz)
Grand Forks County80757595Red River Valley (bed of glacial Lake Agassiz)
Pembina County79748482Red River Valley (bed of glacial Lake Agassiz)
Richland County79786995Red River Valley (bed of glacial Lake Agassiz)
Cass County75747082Red River Valley (bed of glacial Lake Agassiz)
Ransom County71756866Red River Valley (bed of glacial Lake Agassiz)
Wells County60526766Dakota prairie till plain
Griggs County59536166Dakota prairie till plain
Benson County58506366Dakota prairie till plain
McHenry County584210030Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Morton County584210030Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Ramsey County58526266Dakota prairie till plain
Burke County574010030Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Divide County574010030Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Kidder County57545566Dakota prairie till plain
Hettinger County56409730Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
LaMoure County56526946Dakota prairie till plain
Mercer County56389930Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Steele County56545266Dakota prairie till plain
Billings County55399430Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Bottineau County55409430Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Golden Valley County55399630Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Bowman County54428930Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Eddy County54556930Dakota prairie till plain
Foster County54536246Dakota prairie till plain
Grant County54389530Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Nelson County54515166Dakota prairie till plain
Burleigh County53428430Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Emmons County53409916Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Pierce County53546730Dakota prairie till plain
Slope County533810016Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Ward County53429416Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
McKenzie County52379816Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Oliver County52429316Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Sheridan County52408630Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Towner County52546530Dakota prairie till plain
Williams County523710016Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Dunn County51417930Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
McIntosh County50505246Dakota prairie till plain
Rolette County50525146Dakota prairie till plain
Stark County50417630Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Walsh County50534946Dakota prairie till plain
Renville County48407230Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Adams County47416730Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
McLean County47416930Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Mountrail County47416730Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Barnes County46534930Dakota prairie till plain
Dickey County46505230Dakota prairie till plain
Cavalier County45544230Dakota prairie till plain
Sioux County45376630Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)
Stutsman County45505030Dakota prairie till plain
Logan County44514330Dakota prairie till plain

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

The physiographic regions inside North Dakota

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

Missouri Plateau (unglaciated Great Plains)

The water table is deep, so basements rarely flood — but Pierre Shale is one of the most expansive substrates in North America. The risk here is mechanical, not hydraulic.

26 counties: Adams County, Billings County, Bottineau County, Bowman County, Burke County, Burleigh County, Divide County, Dunn County, Emmons County, Golden Valley County, Grant County, Hettinger County, McHenry County, McKenzie County, McLean County, Mercer County, Morton County, Mountrail County, Oliver County, Renville County, Sheridan County, Sioux County, Slope County, Stark County, Ward County, Williams County

Dakota prairie till plain

The dry climate hides the mechanism: the profile shrinks through dry years, swells after a wet one, and the footing moves. A cycle, not permanent damp.

20 counties: Barnes County, Benson County, Cavalier County, Dickey County, Eddy County, Foster County, Griggs County, Kidder County, LaMoure County, Logan County, McIntosh County, Nelson County, Pierce County, Ramsey County, Rolette County, Steele County, Stutsman County, Towner County, Walsh County, Wells County

Red River Valley (bed of glacial Lake Agassiz)

The combination that destroys foundations: no slope, impermeable clay, and extreme volume change. Foundation repair is a bigger trade here than waterproofing.

7 counties: Cass County, Grand Forks County, Pembina County, Ransom County, Richland County, Sargent County, Traill County

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