Best Soil for Gardening in Utah

Utah has 45 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, San Juan Area, Utah has 99% well-drained soils — conditions where most vegetables, herbs, and flowers can thrive with basic soil preparation. At the other end, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area comes in at 33%, 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 San Juan Area, Utah 99% Well drained Mollisols
2 Carbon Area, Utah, Parts of Carbon and Emery Counties 99% Well drained Entisols
3 Emery County, Utah, Eastern Part 98% Well drained Aridisols
4 Grand County, Utah - Central Part 98% Well drained Entisols
5 Beaver County, Utah - Western Part 98% Well drained Aridisols
6 Iron-Washington Area, Utah, Parts of Iron, Kane, and Washington Counties 97% Well drained Mollisols
7 San Juan County, Utah, Central Part 97% Well drained Entisols
8 Fishlake National Forest, Utah, East Part - Parts of Sevier, Piute, Wayne and Sanpete Counties 97% Well drained Mollisols
9 Duchesne Area, Utah, Parts of Duchesne, Utah, and Wasatch Counties 95% Well drained Mollisols
10 Emery Area, Utah, Parts of Emery, Carbon, Grand, and Sevier Counties 95% Well drained Entisols
11 Summit Area, Utah, Parts of Summit, Salt Lake and Wasatch Counties 95% Well drained Mollisols
12 Manti-Lasal National Forest, Manti Division - Parts of Sanpete and Emery Counties 95% Well drained Mollisols
13 Canyonlands Area, Utah - Parts of Grand and San Juan Counties 95% Well drained Entisols
14 Uintah Area, Utah - Parts of Daggett, Grand and Uintah Counties 93% Well drained Aridisols
15 Morgan Area, Utah - Morgan County and Part of Weber County 93% Well drained Mollisols
16 Loa-Marysvale Area, Utah, Parts of Piute, Wayne, and Garfield Counties 92% Well drained Mollisols
17 Henry Mountains Area, Utah, Parts of Garfield, Kane, and Wayne Counties 91% Well drained Entisols
18 Panguitch Area, Parts of Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Piute Counties, Utah 88% Well drained Entisols
19 Heber Valley Area, Utah - Parts of Wasatch and Utah Counties 88% Well drained Mollisols
20 Capitol Reef National Park, Utah 88% Well drained Entisols
21 Sevier County Area, Utah 87% Well drained Mollisols
22 Washington County Area, Utah 87% Well drained Aridisols
23 Millard County, Utah - Eastern Part 85% Well drained Aridisols
24 Wasatch-Cache National Forest, Utah and Wyoming 84% Well drained Mollisols
25 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Area, Parts of Kane and Garfield Counties, Utah 82% Well drained Entisols
26 Sanpete Valley Area, Utah, Parts of Utah and Sanpete Counties 80% Well drained Mollisols
27 Beaver-Cove Fort Area, Utah 77% Well drained Mollisols
28 Zion National Park, Utah 76% Well drained Aridisols
29 San Juan County, Utah, Navajo Indian Reservation 73% Well drained Entisols
30 Box Elder County, Utah, Eastern Part 73% Well drained Mollisols
31 Dixie National Forest, Utah - Parts of Garfield, Washington, Iron, Kane and Wayne Counties 71% Well drained Mollisols
32 West Millard-Juab Area, Utah, Parts of Millard and Juab Counties 70% Well drained Aridisols
33 Rich County, Utah 70% Well drained Mollisols
34 Fairfield-Nephi Area, Utah 69% Well drained Mollisols
35 Box Elder County, Utah, Western Part 68% Well drained Aridisols
36 Salt Lake Area, Utah 65% Well drained Mollisols
37 Cache Valley Area, Parts of Cache and Box Elder Counties, Utah 63% Well drained Mollisols
38 Utah County, Utah - Central Part 63% Well drained Mollisols
39 Canyonlands National Park, Utah 61% Well drained Entisols
40 Kane County Area, Utah 53% Well drained Entisols
41 Arches National Park, Utah 49% Excessively drained Entisols
42 Tooele Area, Utah - Tooele County and Parts of Box Elder, Davis and Juab Counties 42% Well drained Aridisols
43 Davis-Weber Area, Utah 39% Well drained Mollisols
44 Delta Area, Utah - Part of Millard County 37% Well drained Entisols
45 Glen Canyon National Recreation Area 33% Somewhat excessively drained Entisols