Best Soil for Gardening in Iowa
Iowa has 99 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, Crawford County, Iowa has 95% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Pocahontas County, Iowa comes in at 20%, 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 Area | Well-Drained Soils | Dominant Drainage | Dominant Soil Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crawford County, Iowa | 95% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 2 | Allamakee County, Iowa | 92% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 3 | Clayton County, Iowa | 90% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 4 | Shelby County, Iowa | 90% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 5 | Dubuque County, Iowa | 90% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 6 | Jackson County, Iowa | 89% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 7 | Plymouth County, Iowa | 84% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 8 | Winneshiek County, Iowa | 84% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 9 | Ida County, Iowa | 81% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 10 | Woodbury County, Iowa | 80% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 11 | Cass County, Iowa | 77% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 12 | Mills County, Iowa | 77% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 13 | Pottawattamie County, Iowa | 76% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 14 | Lyon County, Iowa | 76% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 15 | Harrison County, Iowa | 76% | Well drained | Entisols |
| 16 | Guthrie County, Iowa | 72% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 17 | Audubon County, Iowa | 71% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 18 | Jones County, Iowa | 70% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 19 | Cherokee County, Iowa | 70% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 20 | Marshall County, Iowa | 70% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 21 | Poweshiek County, Iowa | 69% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 22 | Sioux County, Iowa | 68% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 23 | Jasper County, Iowa | 67% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 24 | Marion County, Iowa | 67% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 25 | Montgomery County, Iowa | 66% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 26 | Tama County, Iowa | 66% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 27 | Johnson County, Iowa | 66% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 28 | Fremont County, Iowa | 65% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 29 | Madison County, Iowa | 65% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 30 | Iowa County, Iowa | 65% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 31 | Mahaska County, Iowa | 65% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 32 | Scott County, Iowa | 64% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 33 | Cedar County, Iowa | 64% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 34 | Keokuk County, Iowa | 63% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 35 | Washington County, Iowa | 61% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 36 | Adair County, Iowa | 61% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 37 | Fayette County, Iowa | 61% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 38 | Delaware County, Iowa | 61% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 39 | Clinton County, Iowa | 60% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 40 | Page County, Iowa | 60% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 41 | Benton County, Iowa | 60% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 42 | Carroll County, Iowa | 57% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 43 | Monona County, Iowa | 57% | Well drained | Entisols |
| 44 | Dallas County, Iowa | 54% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 45 | Adams County, Iowa | 54% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 46 | Linn County, Iowa | 53% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 47 | Polk County, Iowa | 52% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 48 | Warren County, Iowa | 52% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 49 | Union County, Iowa | 52% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 50 | Sac County, Iowa | 52% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 51 | Henry County, Iowa | 51% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 52 | Grundy County, Iowa | 50% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 53 | O'Brien County, Iowa | 50% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 54 | Wapello County, Iowa | 49% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 55 | Des Moines County, Iowa | 47% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 56 | Hardin County, Iowa | 46% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 57 | Jefferson County, Iowa | 46% | Moderately well drained | Alfisols |
| 58 | Muscatine County, Iowa | 45% | Well drained | Alfisols |
| 59 | Louisa County, Iowa | 43% | Poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 60 | Monroe County, Iowa | 43% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 61 | Franklin County, Iowa | 43% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 62 | Taylor County, Iowa | 42% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 63 | Osceola County, Iowa | 42% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 64 | Mitchell County, Iowa | 42% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 65 | Lee County, Iowa | 42% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 66 | Butler County, Iowa | 42% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 67 | Floyd County, Iowa | 41% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 68 | Howard County, Iowa | 41% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 69 | Buena Vista County, Iowa | 41% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 70 | Van Buren County, Iowa | 41% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 71 | Cerro Gordo County, Iowa | 40% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 72 | Boone County, Iowa | 40% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 73 | Story County, Iowa | 40% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 74 | Dickinson County, Iowa | 39% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 75 | Black Hawk County, Iowa | 38% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 76 | Buchanan County, Iowa | 35% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 77 | Ringgold County, Iowa | 35% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 78 | Greene County, Iowa | 35% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 79 | Winnebago County, Iowa | 34% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 80 | Decatur County, Iowa | 33% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 81 | Worth County, Iowa | 32% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 82 | Chickasaw County, Iowa | 32% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 83 | Clay County, Iowa | 31% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 84 | Emmet County, Iowa | 30% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 85 | Davis County, Iowa | 30% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 86 | Clarke County, Iowa | 29% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 87 | Bremer County, Iowa | 28% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 88 | Palo Alto County, Iowa | 28% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 89 | Humboldt County, Iowa | 28% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 90 | Hamilton County, Iowa | 26% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 91 | Lucas County, Iowa | 25% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 92 | Wright County, Iowa | 24% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 93 | Calhoun County, Iowa | 24% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 94 | Wayne County, Iowa | 24% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 95 | Hancock County, Iowa | 23% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 96 | Appanoose County, Iowa | 23% | Somewhat poorly drained | Alfisols |
| 97 | Webster County, Iowa | 22% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 98 | Kossuth County, Iowa | 21% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 99 | Pocahontas County, Iowa | 20% | Poorly drained | Mollisols |