BasementSoil

Ohio: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

88 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Williams County (78), lowest is Coshocton County (29). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Williams County.

Where in Ohio 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, OH — combined 58/100, moisture 54, movement 45, water table 82Allen County, OH — combined 54/100, moisture 54, movement 46, water table 66Ashland County, OH — combined 35/100, moisture 36, movement 27, water table 46Ashtabula County, OH — combined 35/100, moisture 36, movement 27, water table 46Athens County, OH — combined 36/100, moisture 37, movement 27, water table 46Auglaize County, OH — combined 51/100, moisture 54, movement 37, water table 66Belmont County, OH — combined 37/100, moisture 37, movement 30, water table 46Brown County, OH — combined 56/100, moisture 54, movement 39, water table 82Butler County, OH — combined 52/100, moisture 52, movement 43, water table 66Carroll County, OH — combined 37/100, moisture 37, movement 43, water table 30Champaign County, OH — combined 52/100, moisture 52, movement 32, water table 82Clark County, OH — combined 44/100, moisture 52, movement 30, water table 46Clermont County, OH — combined 53/100, moisture 56, movement 39, water table 66Clinton County, OH — combined 49/100, moisture 56, movement 41, water table 46Columbiana County, OH — combined 37/100, moisture 36, movement 31, water table 46Coshocton County, OH — combined 29/100, moisture 35, movement 29, water table 16Crawford County, OH — combined 50/100, moisture 53, movement 49, water table 46Cuyahoga County, OH — combined 36/100, moisture 38, movement 39, water table 30Darke County, OH — combined 51/100, moisture 56, movement 33, water table 66Defiance County, OH — combined 73/100, moisture 74, movement 66, water table 82Delaware County, OH — combined 57/100, moisture 57, movement 51, water table 66Erie County, OH — combined 73/100, moisture 74, movement 57, water table 95Fairfield County, OH — combined 52/100, moisture 56, movement 36, water table 66Fayette County, OH — combined 55/100, moisture 53, movement 50, water table 66Franklin County, OH — combined 54/100, moisture 53, movement 46, water table 66Fulton County, OH — combined 77/100, moisture 73, movement 70, water table 95Gallia County, OH — combined 57/100, moisture 57, movement 52, water table 66Geauga County, OH — combined 31/100, moisture 35, movement 25, water table 30Greene County, OH — combined 53/100, moisture 56, movement 39, water table 66Guernsey County, OH — combined 36/100, moisture 36, movement 30, water table 46Hamilton County, OH — combined 48/100, moisture 57, movement 36, water table 46Hancock County, OH — combined 70/100, moisture 73, movement 57, water table 82Hardin County, OH — combined 52/100, moisture 57, movement 34, water table 66Harrison County, OH — combined 35/100, moisture 35, movement 27, water table 46Henry County, OH — combined 65/100, moisture 74, movement 53, water table 66Highland County, OH — combined 55/100, moisture 52, movement 39, water table 82Hocking County, OH — combined 46/100, moisture 52, movement 37, water table 46Holmes County, OH — combined 40/100, moisture 35, movement 43, water table 46Huron County, OH — combined 76/100, moisture 71, movement 69, water table 95Jackson County, OH — combined 60/100, moisture 53, movement 53, water table 82Jefferson County, OH — combined 37/100, moisture 37, movement 32, water table 46Knox County, OH — combined 56/100, moisture 53, movement 52, water table 66Lake County, OH — combined 43/100, moisture 37, movement 50, water table 46Lawrence County, OH — combined 48/100, moisture 54, movement 41, water table 46Licking County, OH — combined 51/100, moisture 54, movement 35, water table 66Logan County, OH — combined 55/100, moisture 57, movement 32, water table 82Lorain County, OH — combined 36/100, moisture 36, movement 30, water table 46Lucas County, OH — combined 74/100, moisture 74, movement 69, water table 82Madison County, OH — combined 62/100, moisture 56, movement 56, water table 82Mahoning County, OH — combined 41/100, moisture 34, movement 48, water table 46Marion County, OH — combined 54/100, moisture 55, movement 43, water table 66Medina County, OH — combined 43/100, moisture 35, movement 52, water table 46Meigs County, OH — combined 47/100, moisture 34, movement 52, water table 66Mercer County, OH — combined 52/100, moisture 56, movement 50, water table 46Miami County, OH — combined 59/100, moisture 57, movement 56, water table 66Monroe County, OH — combined 38/100, moisture 37, movement 34, water table 46Montgomery County, OH — combined 54/100, moisture 53, movement 34, water table 82Morgan County, OH — combined 39/100, moisture 38, movement 36, water table 46Morrow County, OH — combined 49/100, moisture 54, movement 43, water table 46Muskingum County, OH — combined 39/100, moisture 38, movement 34, water table 46Noble County, OH — combined 34/100, moisture 35, movement 34, water table 30Ottawa County, OH — combined 68/100, moisture 73, movement 50, water table 82Paulding County, OH — combined 69/100, moisture 71, movement 68, water table 66Perry County, OH — combined 33/100, moisture 36, movement 31, water table 30Pickaway County, OH — combined 56/100, moisture 57, movement 46, water table 66Pike County, OH — combined 50/100, moisture 52, movement 36, water table 66Portage County, OH — combined 33/100, moisture 34, movement 33, water table 30Preble County, OH — combined 52/100, moisture 53, movement 39, water table 66Putnam County, OH — combined 67/100, moisture 72, movement 48, water table 82Richland County, OH — combined 62/100, moisture 57, movement 54, water table 82Ross County, OH — combined 56/100, moisture 55, movement 50, water table 66Sandusky County, OH — combined 73/100, moisture 72, movement 67, water table 82Scioto County, OH — combined 50/100, moisture 56, movement 31, water table 66Seneca County, OH — combined 74/100, moisture 71, movement 62, water table 95Shelby County, OH — combined 56/100, moisture 53, movement 54, water table 66Stark County, OH — combined 31/100, moisture 35, movement 26, water table 30Summit County, OH — combined 41/100, moisture 35, movement 47, water table 46Trumbull County, OH — combined 32/100, moisture 35, movement 30, water table 30Tuscarawas County, OH — combined 40/100, moisture 36, movement 40, water table 46Union County, OH — combined 53/100, moisture 56, movement 38, water table 66Van Wert County, OH — combined 59/100, moisture 57, movement 57, water table 66Vinton County, OH — combined 54/100, moisture 56, movement 43, water table 66Warren County, OH — combined 58/100, moisture 54, movement 47, water table 82Washington County, OH — combined 29/100, moisture 35, movement 29, water table 16Wayne County, OH — combined 38/100, moisture 36, movement 48, water table 30Williams County, OH — combined 78/100, moisture 74, movement 72, water table 95Wood County, OH — combined 71/100, moisture 71, movement 53, water table 95Wyandot County, OH — combined 58/100, moisture 54, movement 57, water table 66
  • 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
Williams County78747295Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Fulton County77737095Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Huron County76716995Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Lucas County74746982Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Seneca County74716295Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Defiance County73746682Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Erie County73745795Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Sandusky County73726782Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Wood County71715395Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Hancock County70735782Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Paulding County69716866Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Ottawa County68735082Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Putnam County67724882Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Henry County65745366Glaciolacustrine lake plain
Madison County62565682Wisconsinan till plain
Richland County62575482Wisconsinan till plain
Jackson County60535382Wisconsinan till plain
Miami County59575666Wisconsinan till plain
Van Wert County59575766Wisconsinan till plain
Adams County58544582Wisconsinan till plain
Warren County58544782Wisconsinan till plain
Wyandot County58545766Wisconsinan till plain
Delaware County57575166Wisconsinan till plain
Gallia County57575266Wisconsinan till plain
Brown County56543982Wisconsinan till plain
Knox County56535266Wisconsinan till plain
Pickaway County56574666Wisconsinan till plain
Ross County56555066Wisconsinan till plain
Shelby County56535466Wisconsinan till plain
Fayette County55535066Wisconsinan till plain
Highland County55523982Wisconsinan till plain
Logan County55573282Wisconsinan till plain
Allen County54544666Wisconsinan till plain
Franklin County54534666Wisconsinan till plain
Marion County54554366Wisconsinan till plain
Montgomery County54533482Wisconsinan till plain
Vinton County54564366Wisconsinan till plain
Clermont County53563966Wisconsinan till plain
Greene County53563966Wisconsinan till plain
Union County53563866Wisconsinan till plain
Butler County52524366Wisconsinan till plain
Champaign County52523282Wisconsinan till plain
Fairfield County52563666Wisconsinan till plain
Hardin County52573466Wisconsinan till plain
Mercer County52565046Wisconsinan till plain
Preble County52533966Wisconsinan till plain
Auglaize County51543766Wisconsinan till plain
Darke County51563366Wisconsinan till plain
Licking County51543566Wisconsinan till plain
Crawford County50534946Wisconsinan till plain
Pike County50523666Wisconsinan till plain
Scioto County50563166Wisconsinan till plain
Clinton County49564146Wisconsinan till plain
Morrow County49544346Wisconsinan till plain
Hamilton County48573646Wisconsinan till plain
Lawrence County48544146Wisconsinan till plain
Meigs County47345266Appalachian Plateau
Hocking County46523746Wisconsinan till plain
Clark County44523046Wisconsinan till plain
Lake County43375046Appalachian Plateau
Medina County43355246Appalachian Plateau
Mahoning County41344846Appalachian Plateau
Summit County41354746Appalachian Plateau
Holmes County40354346Appalachian Plateau
Tuscarawas County40364046Appalachian Plateau
Morgan County39383646Appalachian Plateau
Muskingum County39383446Appalachian Plateau
Monroe County38373446Appalachian Plateau
Wayne County38364830Appalachian Plateau
Belmont County37373046Appalachian Plateau
Carroll County37374330Appalachian Plateau
Columbiana County37363146Appalachian Plateau
Jefferson County37373246Appalachian Plateau
Athens County36372746Appalachian Plateau
Cuyahoga County36383930Appalachian Plateau
Guernsey County36363046Appalachian Plateau
Lorain County36363046Appalachian Plateau
Ashland County35362746Appalachian Plateau
Ashtabula County35362746Appalachian Plateau
Harrison County35352746Appalachian Plateau
Noble County34353430Appalachian Plateau
Perry County33363130Appalachian Plateau
Portage County33343330Appalachian Plateau
Trumbull County32353030Appalachian Plateau
Geauga County31352530Appalachian Plateau
Stark County31352630Appalachian Plateau
Coshocton County29352916Appalachian Plateau
Washington County29352916Appalachian Plateau

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

The physiographic regions inside Ohio

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

Wisconsinan till plain

The classic American basement belt. Below the topsoil sits dense till that water barely penetrates, so infiltrating water travels sideways along it until it meets the first vertical obstruction — typically a basement wall.

44 counties: Adams County, Allen County, Auglaize County, Brown County, Butler County, Champaign County, Clark County, Clermont County, Clinton County, Crawford County, Darke County, Delaware County, Fairfield County, Fayette County, Franklin County, Gallia County, Greene County, Hamilton County, Hardin County, Highland County, Hocking County, Jackson County, Knox County, Lawrence County, Licking County, Logan County, Madison County, Marion County, Mercer County, Miami County, Montgomery County, Morrow County, Pickaway County, Pike County, Preble County, Richland County, Ross County, Scioto County, Shelby County, Union County, Van Wert County, Vinton County, Warren County, Wyandot County

Appalachian Plateau

Water travels over bedrock under a thin skin of colluvium. A house cut into a hillside has an entire catchment behind its uphill wall — what decides the outcome here is a daylight drain, not a coating.

30 counties: Ashland County, Ashtabula County, Athens County, Belmont County, Carroll County, Columbiana County, Coshocton County, Cuyahoga County, Geauga County, Guernsey County, Harrison County, Holmes County, Jefferson County, Lake County, Lorain County, Mahoning County, Medina County, Meigs County, Monroe County, Morgan County, Muskingum County, Noble County, Perry County, Portage County, Stark County, Summit County, Trumbull County, Tuscarawas County, Washington County, Wayne County

Glaciolacustrine lake plain

About the least favourable ground for a basement anywhere in the United States. Dead flat, clay with almost no permeability, and historically wetland that was drained artificially. Basements exist here because the houses were built before anyone modelled the consequence.

14 counties: Defiance County, Erie County, Fulton County, Hancock County, Henry County, Huron County, Lucas County, Ottawa County, Paulding County, Putnam County, Sandusky County, Seneca County, Williams County, Wood County

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