Best Soil for Gardening in Kansas
Kansas has 105 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, Norton County, Kansas has 100% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Cherokee County, Kansas comes in at 19%, 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 | Norton County, Kansas | 100% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 2 | Smith County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 3 | Decatur County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 4 | Saline County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 5 | Ness County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 6 | Thomas County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 7 | Rawlins County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 8 | Phillips County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 9 | Wichita County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 10 | Osborne County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 11 | Sherman County, Kansas | 99% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 12 | Gove County, Kansas | 98% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 13 | Hodgeman County, Kansas | 98% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 14 | Rooks County, Kansas | 98% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 15 | Graham County, Kansas | 98% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 16 | Greeley County, Kansas | 98% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 17 | Sheridan County, Kansas | 98% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 18 | Lane County, Kansas | 98% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 19 | Jewell County, Kansas | 97% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 20 | Stanton County, Kansas | 97% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 21 | Dickinson County, Kansas | 97% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 22 | Geary County, Kansas | 97% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 23 | Ottawa County, Kansas | 96% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 24 | Riley County, Kansas | 96% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 25 | Scott County, Kansas | 96% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 26 | Trego County, Kansas | 96% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 27 | Ellis County, Kansas | 96% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 28 | Rush County, Kansas | 96% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 29 | Sumner County, Kansas | 95% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 30 | Nemaha County, Kansas | 95% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 31 | Logan County, Kansas | 95% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 32 | Ellsworth County, Kansas | 95% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 33 | Washington County, Kansas | 95% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 34 | Brown County, Kansas | 95% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 35 | Wallace County, Kansas | 94% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 36 | Clay County, Kansas | 94% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 37 | Ford County, Kansas | 94% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 38 | Wabaunsee County, Kansas | 94% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 39 | Butler County, Kansas | 94% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 40 | Chase County, Kansas | 94% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 41 | Kiowa County, Kansas | 93% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 42 | Cheyenne County, Kansas | 93% | Well drained | Entisols |
| 43 | Mitchell County, Kansas | 92% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 44 | Republic County, Kansas | 92% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 45 | Haskell County, Kansas | 92% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 46 | Sedgwick County, Kansas | 91% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 47 | Cowley County, Kansas | 91% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 48 | Pottawatomie County, Kansas | 91% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 49 | Gray County, Kansas | 91% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 50 | Harper County, Kansas | 90% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 51 | Pawnee County, Kansas | 90% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 52 | Cloud County, Kansas | 90% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 53 | Jackson County, Kansas | 90% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 54 | Marion County, Kansas | 89% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 55 | Grant County, Kansas | 89% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 56 | Morris County, Kansas | 89% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 57 | Lincoln County, Kansas | 88% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 58 | Wyandotte County, Kansas | 88% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 59 | Greenwood County, Kansas | 88% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 60 | Barton County, Kansas | 87% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 61 | Kingman County, Kansas | 87% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 62 | Marshall County, Kansas | 87% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 63 | Comanche County, Kansas | 87% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 64 | Pratt County, Kansas | 87% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 65 | Atchison County, Kansas | 85% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 66 | Osage County, Kansas | 85% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 67 | Morton County, Kansas | 85% | Well drained | Entisols |
| 68 | Elk County, Kansas | 85% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 69 | Barber County, Kansas | 85% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 70 | Doniphan County, Kansas | 84% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 71 | McPherson County, Kansas | 84% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 72 | Stevens County, Kansas | 83% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 73 | Hamilton County, Kansas | 83% | Well drained | Entisols |
| 74 | Edwards County, Kansas | 83% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 75 | Lyon County, Kansas | 82% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 76 | Clark County, Kansas | 80% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 77 | Leavenworth County, Kansas | 78% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 78 | Rice County, Kansas | 78% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 79 | Russell County, Kansas | 78% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 80 | Miami County, Kansas | 77% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 81 | Meade County, Kansas | 76% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 82 | Reno County, Kansas | 76% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 83 | Finney County, Kansas | 76% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 84 | Linn County, Kansas | 75% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 85 | Coffey County, Kansas | 73% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 86 | Shawnee County, Kansas | 73% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 87 | Seward County, Kansas | 72% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 88 | Chautauqua County, Kansas | 72% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 89 | Stafford County, Kansas | 70% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 90 | Johnson County, Kansas | 70% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 91 | Franklin County, Kansas | 69% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 92 | Kearny County, Kansas | 68% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 93 | Montgomery County, Kansas | 68% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 94 | Jefferson County, Kansas | 68% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 95 | Harvey County, Kansas | 68% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 96 | Allen County, Kansas | 66% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 97 | Douglas County, Kansas | 65% | Well drained | Mollisols |
| 98 | Bourbon County, Kansas | 64% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 99 | Anderson County, Kansas | 64% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 100 | Wilson County, Kansas | 62% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 101 | Neosho County, Kansas | 60% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 102 | Woodson County, Kansas | 60% | Moderately well drained | Mollisols |
| 103 | Labette County, Kansas | 45% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 104 | Crawford County, Kansas | 25% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |
| 105 | Cherokee County, Kansas | 19% | Somewhat poorly drained | Mollisols |