Alabama Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across Alabama? We ranked every USDA survey area by the percentage of land classified as "well drained." Areas at the top of the list have soils where water moves through at a healthy rate — favorable for building, septic, and gardening. Areas at the bottom have more waterlogged or slowly-draining soils that may require engineered solutions.
The best-drained survey area is Cleburne County, Alabama at 99% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Mobile County, Alabama at 25%.
| # | Survey Area | Well Drained | Poorly Drained | Dominant Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleburne County, Alabama | 99% | 0% | Well drained |
| 2 | Clay County, Alabama | 90% | 5% | Well drained |
| 3 | Shelby County, Alabama | 89% | 6% | Well drained |
| 4 | Tallapoosa County, Alabama | 87% | 8% | Well drained |
| 5 | Walker County, Alabama | 87% | 0% | Well drained |
| 6 | Randolph County, Alabama | 86% | 8% | Well drained |
| 7 | Lee County, Alabama | 86% | 5% | Well drained |
| 8 | Chambers County, Alabama | 84% | 14% | Well drained |
| 9 | Coosa County, Alabama | 84% | 6% | Well drained |
| 10 | Colbert County, Alabama | 84% | 8% | Well drained |
| 11 | Jefferson County, Alabama | 84% | 2% | Well drained |
| 12 | Winston County, Alabama | 83% | 0% | Well drained |
| 13 | Blount County, Alabama | 82% | 1% | Well drained |
| 14 | Cullman County, Alabama | 82% | 6% | Well drained |
| 15 | Tuscaloosa County, Alabama | 81% | 8% | Well drained |
| 16 | Chilton County, Alabama | 81% | 7% | Well drained |
| 17 | Talladega County, Alabama | 80% | 6% | Well drained |
| 18 | St. Clair County, Alabama | 79% | 2% | Well drained |
| 19 | Jackson County, Alabama | 76% | 10% | Well drained |
| 20 | Fayette County, Alabama | 75% | 16% | Well drained |
| 21 | Barbour County, Alabama | 75% | 9% | Well drained |
| 22 | Marshall County, Alabama | 75% | 3% | Well drained |
| 23 | Coffee County, Alabama | 75% | 7% | Well drained |
| 24 | Autauga County, Alabama | 75% | 11% | Well drained |
| 25 | Cherokee County, Alabama | 74% | 6% | Well drained |
| 26 | Etowah County, Alabama | 73% | 8% | Well drained |
| 27 | Franklin County, Alabama | 73% | 6% | Well drained |
| 28 | Marion County, Alabama | 72% | 3% | Well drained |
| 29 | DeKalb County, Alabama | 71% | 3% | Well drained |
| 30 | Crenshaw County, Alabama | 71% | 18% | Well drained |
| 31 | Pike County, Alabama | 70% | 15% | Well drained |
| 32 | Choctaw County, Alabama | 70% | 16% | Well drained |
| 33 | Madison County, Alabama | 68% | 17% | Well drained |
| 34 | Lamar County, Alabama | 67% | 20% | Well drained |
| 35 | Monroe County, Alabama | 66% | 13% | Well drained |
| 36 | Covington County, Alabama | 64% | 18% | Well drained |
| 37 | Pickens County, Alabama | 63% | 24% | Well drained |
| 38 | Morgan County, Alabama | 62% | 17% | Well drained |
| 39 | Butler County, Alabama | 62% | 21% | Well drained |
| 40 | Elmore County, Alabama | 62% | 17% | Well drained |
| 41 | Houston County, Alabama | 62% | 21% | Well drained |
| 42 | Geneva County, Alabama | 61% | 21% | Well drained |
| 43 | Escambia County, Alabama | 61% | 24% | Well drained |
| 44 | Bibb County, Alabama | 61% | 11% | Well drained |
| 45 | Calhoun County, Alabama | 61% | 11% | Well drained |
| 46 | Perry County, Alabama | 59% | 26% | Well drained |
| 47 | Lawrence County, Alabama | 59% | 19% | Well drained |
| 48 | Limestone County, Alabama | 58% | 17% | Well drained |
| 49 | Henry County, Alabama | 58% | 8% | Well drained |
| 50 | Clarke County, Alabama | 55% | 14% | Well drained |
| 51 | Russell County, Alabama | 52% | 17% | Well drained |
| 52 | Hale County, Alabama | 51% | 33% | Well drained |
| 53 | Lauderdale County, Alabama | 49% | 4% | Well drained |
| 54 | Lowndes County, Alabama | 49% | 28% | Well drained |
| 55 | Conecuh County, Alabama | 49% | 6% | Well drained |
| 56 | Macon County, Alabama | 45% | 23% | Well drained |
| 57 | Wilcox County, Alabama | 43% | 22% | Well drained |
| 58 | Marengo County, Alabama | 43% | 33% | Well drained |
| 59 | Washington County, Alabama | 39% | 40% | Well drained |
| 60 | Dale County, Alabama | 39% | 16% | Somewhat excessively drained |
| 61 | Dallas County, Alabama | 34% | 34% | Well drained |
| 62 | Sumter County, Alabama | 33% | 34% | Well drained |
| 63 | Montgomery County, Alabama | 32% | 38% | Well drained |
| 64 | Bullock County, Alabama | 29% | 23% | Moderately well drained |
| 65 | Baldwin County, Alabama | 29% | 34% | Well drained |
| 66 | Greene County, Alabama | 29% | 29% | Moderately well drained |
| 67 | Mobile County, Alabama | 25% | 27% | Somewhat excessively drained |