Best Soil for Gardening in California

California

California has 119 USDA soil survey areas, and they vary considerably in how friendly the ground is for growing things. We ranked every survey area by the percentage of well-drained soil — the single most important soil property for most garden plants.

At the top, Central Sierra Foothills Area, California, Parts of Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties has 99% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Yosemite National Park, California comes in at 6%, meaning more of the landscape has drainage challenges that may require raised beds, soil amendments, or careful site selection for a productive garden.

Remember that these are area-wide averages. Even in a low-ranking survey area, individual properties can have excellent garden soil. Look up your specific address for exact conditions.

#Survey AreaWell-Drained SoilsDominant DrainageDominant Soil Order
1 Central Sierra Foothills Area, California, Parts of Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties 99% Well drained Alfisols
2 Mariposa County Area, California 99% Well drained Alfisols
3 Humboldt County, South Part, California 98% Well drained Inceptisols
4 Stanislaus County, California, Northern Part 98% Well drained Alfisols
5 Redwood National and State Parks, California 97% Well drained Ultisols
6 Nevada County Area, California 97% Well drained Alfisols
7 San Luis Obispo County, California, Carrizo Plain Area 95% Well drained Entisols
8 Humboldt and Del Norte Area, California 95% Well drained Ultisols
9 El Dorado Area, California 95% Well drained Alfisols
10 Stanislaus County, California, Western Part 93% Well drained Inceptisols
11 Los Angeles County, California, West San Fernando Valley Area 93% Well drained Mollisols
12 Kern County, California, Northwestern Part 92% Well drained Entisols
13 Modoc National Forest Area, California 91% Well drained Mollisols
14 Lassen Volcanic National Park, California 91% Well drained Andisols
15 Eastern Santa Clara Area, California 91% Well drained Mollisols
16 Yuba County, California 90% Well drained Alfisols
17 San Mateo Area, California 90% Well drained Mollisols
18 Mendocino County, Western Part, California 90% Well drained Alfisols
19 Six Rivers National Forest Area, California 89% Well drained Inceptisols
20 Humboldt County, Central Part, California 89% Well drained Inceptisols
21 San Luis Obispo County, California, Paso Robles Area 88% Well drained Mollisols
22 Tulare County, California, Central Part 88% Well drained Alfisols
23 Sonoma County, California 87% Well drained Alfisols
24 Channel Islands Area, California, Parts of Santa Barbara and Los Angeles Counties 87% Well drained Alfisols
25 San Mateo County, Eastern Part, and San Francisco County, California 87% Well drained Mollisols
26 Placer County, California, Western Part 87% Well drained Alfisols
27 Surprise Valley-Home Camp Area, California and Nevada 87% Well drained Mollisols
28 Tehama County, California 87% Well drained Alfisols
29 San Benito County, California 86% Well drained Mollisols
30 Los Padres National Forest Area, California 86% Well drained Alfisols
31 Modoc County, California, Alturas Area 86% Well drained Mollisols
32 Lassen National Forest, California, Parts of Lassen, Plumas, Butte, Shasta, and Siskiyou Counties 85% Well drained Inceptisols
33 Intermountain Area, Parts of Lassen, Modoc, Shasta, and Siskiyou Counties, California 85% Well drained Mollisols
34 Inyo National Forest, Eastern Part, California and Nevada 85% Well drained Entisols
35 Susanville Area, Parts of Lassen and Plumas Counties, California 85% Well drained Mollisols
36 Madera Area, California 84% Well drained Alfisols
37 Klamath National Forest Area, Parts of Siskiyou County, California, and Jackson County, Oregon 84% Well drained Inceptisols
38 Antelope Valley Area, California 84% Well drained Entisols
39 Mendocino County, Eastern Part and Southwestern Part of Trinity County, California 83% Well drained Alfisols
40 Coleville-Bridgeport Area, Parts of Alpine and Mono Counties, California 83% Well drained Mollisols
41 Inyo County Area, California 83% Well drained Aridisols
42 Amador Area, California 82% Well drained Alfisols
43 Kern County, California, Southwest Part 82% Well drained Entisols
44 Alameda Area, California 82% Well drained Mollisols
45 Trinity County, California, Weaverville Area 81% Well drained Alfisols
46 Santa Clara Area, California, Western Part 81% Well drained Mollisols
47 Eastern Stanislaus Area, California 80% Well drained Alfisols
48 Tulare County, Western Part, California 80% Well drained Entisols
49 Shasta County Area, California 80% Well drained Alfisols
50 Shasta-Trinity National Forest Area, Parts of Humboldt, Siskiyou, Shasta, Tehama, and Trinity Counties, California 80% Well drained Inceptisols
51 Marin County, California 80% Well drained Mollisols
52 Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 79% Well drained Mollisols
53 Fresno County, California, Western Part 79% Well drained Aridisols
54 Ventura Area, California 78% Well drained Mollisols
55 Los Angeles County, California, Southeastern Part 76% Well drained Mollisols
56 Plumas National Forest Area, California 76% Well drained Mollisols
57 Siskiyou County, California, Central Part 75% Well drained Mollisols
58 High Sierra Area, California 75% Well drained Entisols
59 Contra Costa County, California 74% Well drained Mollisols
60 Tahoe National Forest Area, California 74% Well drained Inceptisols
61 Kern County, Northeastern Part, and Southeastern Part of Tulare County, California 73% Well drained Mollisols
62 Santa Barbara County, California, South Coastal Part 73% Well drained Mollisols
63 Monterey County, California 73% Well drained Mollisols
64 Edwards Air Force Base, California, Parts of Kern, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino Counties 72% Well drained Aridisols
65 Eastern Fresno Area, California 71% Well drained Alfisols
66 Mendocino National Forest Area, California 71% Well drained Inceptisols
67 Solano County, California 70% Well drained Alfisols
68 Glenn County, California 69% Well drained Alfisols
69 San Luis Obispo County, California, Coastal Part 68% Well drained Mollisols
70 Lake County, California 68% Well drained Alfisols
71 Merced Area, California 67% Well drained Alfisols
72 Fish Lake and Deep Springs Valleys Area, California 67% Well drained Entisols
73 Kern County, California, Southeastern Part 67% Well drained Mollisols
74 Santa Cruz County, California 66% Well drained Mollisols
75 Sacramento County, California 66% Moderately well drained Alfisols
76 Napa County, California 66% Well drained Mollisols
77 Toiyabe National Forest Area, California 65% Well drained Mollisols
78 Yolo County, California 65% Well drained Inceptisols
79 Colusa County, California 65% Well drained Mollisols
80 National Training Center, Fort Irwin, California 64% Well drained Aridisols
81 Pinnacles National Monument, California 64% Well drained Mollisols
82 Butte Valley-Tule Lake Area, California, Parts of Siskiyou and Modoc Counties 64% Well drained Mollisols
83 Western Riverside Area, California 63% Well drained Alfisols
84 San Bernardino County, California, Mojave River Area 61% Well drained Entisols
85 Stanislaus National Forest, California, Parts 61% Well drained Inceptisols
86 Eldorado National Forest Area, California, Parts of Alpine, Amador, El Dorado, and Placer Counties 61% Well drained Inceptisols
87 Northern Santa Barbara Area, California 61% Well drained Mollisols
88 Butte Area, California, Parts of Butte and Plumas Counties 61% Well drained Alfisols
89 Orange County and Part of Riverside County, California 59% Well drained Mollisols
90 San Diego County Area, California 59% Well drained Alfisols
91 San Joaquin County, California 59% Well drained Mollisols
92 Sutter County, California 59% Moderately well drained Entisols
93 Palo Verde Area, California 54% Well drained Entisols
94 Merced County, California, Western Part 54% Well drained Mollisols
95 Sierra National Forest Area Parts of Fresno, California 53% Well drained Inceptisols
96 Kings County, California 52% Well drained Entisols
97 Sierra Valley Area, California, Parts of Sierra, Plumas, and Lassen Counties 49% Well drained Mollisols
98 Sequoia National Forest Parts of Fresno, Kern and Tulare Counties, California 45% Well drained Mollisols
99 Death Valley National Park Area, California and Nevada 45% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
100 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, California 44% Somewhat excessively drained Inceptisols
101 Benton-Owens Valley Area Parts of Inyo and Mono Counties, California 44% Well drained Entisols
102 Alameda County, California, Western Part 43% Well drained Mollisols
103 Angeles National Forest Area, California 38% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
104 Mojave Desert Area, West Central Part, California 38% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
105 Mojave National Preserve Area, California 37% Somewhat excessively drained Aridisols
106 Mojave Desert Area, Northwest Part, California 35% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
107 San Bernardino County Southwestern Part, California 34% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
108 Tahoe Basin Area, California and Nevada 34% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
109 Imperial County, California, Imperial Valley Area 33% Somewhat poorly drained Entisols
110 Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California 31% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
111 Riverside County, Coachella Valley Area, California 30% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
112 Mojave Desert Area, Northeast Part, California 29% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
113 San Bernardino National Forest Area, California 29% Somewhat excessively drained Mollisols
114 Joshua Tree National Park, California 26% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
115 Anza-Borrego Area, California 18% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
116 Inyo National Forest, Western Part, California 16% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
117 Mojave Desert Area, California 10% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
118 Colorado Desert Area, California 6% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols
119 Yosemite National Park, California 6% Somewhat excessively drained Inceptisols

See also: national gardening soil rankings | California drainage rankings | all California survey areas