Arkansas Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across Arkansas? 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 Fulton County, Arkansas at 97% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Mississippi County, Arkansas at 1%. With 86% poorly-drained soils, properties in Mississippi County, Arkansas should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.
| # | Survey Area | Well Drained | Poorly Drained | Dominant Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fulton County, Arkansas | 97% | 0% | Well drained |
| 2 | Van Buren County, Arkansas | 97% | 0% | Well drained |
| 3 | Cleburne County, Arkansas | 94% | 0% | Well drained |
| 4 | Newton County, Arkansas | 93% | 0% | Well drained |
| 5 | Sharp County, Arkansas | 93% | 0% | Well drained |
| 6 | Izard County, Arkansas | 93% | 0% | Well drained |
| 7 | Johnson County, Arkansas | 90% | 2% | Well drained |
| 8 | Polk County, Arkansas | 89% | 2% | Well drained |
| 9 | Scott County, Arkansas | 86% | 3% | Well drained |
| 10 | Pope County, Arkansas | 86% | 3% | Well drained |
| 11 | Crawford County, Arkansas | 84% | 4% | Well drained |
| 12 | Perry County, Arkansas | 82% | 8% | Well drained |
| 13 | Madison County, Arkansas | 82% | 0% | Well drained |
| 14 | Stone County, Arkansas | 81% | 0% | Well drained |
| 15 | Searcy County, Arkansas | 80% | 0% | Well drained |
| 16 | Pike County, Arkansas | 77% | 11% | Well drained |
| 17 | Franklin County, Arkansas | 76% | 8% | Well drained |
| 18 | Saline County, Arkansas | 75% | 10% | Well drained |
| 19 | Baxter County, Arkansas | 73% | 0% | Well drained |
| 20 | Garland County, Arkansas | 70% | 4% | Well drained |
| 21 | Conway County, Arkansas | 69% | 11% | Well drained |
| 22 | Yell County, Arkansas | 68% | 11% | Well drained |
| 23 | Carroll County, Arkansas | 68% | 0% | Well drained |
| 24 | Boone County, Arkansas | 65% | 0% | Well drained |
| 25 | Logan County, Arkansas | 64% | 5% | Well drained |
| 26 | Marion County, Arkansas | 64% | 0% | Well drained |
| 27 | Hot Spring County, Arkansas | 63% | 19% | Well drained |
| 28 | Washington County, Arkansas | 63% | 5% | Well drained |
| 29 | Montgomery County, Arkansas | 63% | 4% | Well drained |
| 30 | Pulaski County, Arkansas | 61% | 23% | Well drained |
| 31 | Howard County, Arkansas | 60% | 8% | Well drained |
| 32 | Faulkner County, Arkansas | 58% | 19% | Well drained |
| 33 | Randolph County, Arkansas | 56% | 18% | Well drained |
| 34 | Independence County, Arkansas | 52% | 9% | Well drained |
| 35 | Sebastian County, Arkansas | 50% | 15% | Well drained |
| 36 | Ouachita County, Arkansas | 42% | 41% | Well drained |
| 37 | White County, Arkansas | 41% | 32% | Well drained |
| 38 | Sevier County, Arkansas | 38% | 31% | Well drained |
| 39 | Clark County, Arkansas | 36% | 37% | Well drained |
| 40 | Lawrence County, Arkansas | 28% | 49% | Poorly drained |
| 41 | Lafayette, Little River, and Miller Counties, Arkansas | 27% | 49% | Poorly drained |
| 42 | Columbia County, Arkansas | 26% | 31% | Moderately well drained |
| 43 | Jefferson and Lincoln Counties, Arkansas | 25% | 53% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 44 | Nevada County, Arkansas | 25% | 38% | Moderately well drained |
| 45 | Hempstead County, Arkansas | 24% | 29% | Moderately well drained |
| 46 | Benton County, Arkansas | 21% | 3% | Moderately well drained |
| 47 | Calhoun and Dallas Counties, Arkansas | 19% | 60% | Poorly drained |
| 48 | Jackson County, Arkansas | 17% | 71% | Poorly drained |
| 49 | Drew County, Arkansas | 17% | 56% | Poorly drained |
| 50 | Woodruff County, Arkansas | 17% | 70% | Poorly drained |
| 51 | Clay County, Arkansas | 13% | 70% | Poorly drained |
| 52 | Greene County, Arkansas | 13% | 59% | Poorly drained |
| 53 | Grant County, Arkansas | 13% | 51% | Moderately well drained |
| 54 | Cleveland County, Arkansas | 11% | 55% | Poorly drained |
| 55 | Monroe County, Arkansas | 11% | 81% | Poorly drained |
| 56 | Ashley County, Arkansas | 11% | 70% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 57 | Lee County, Arkansas | 10% | 76% | Poorly drained |
| 58 | Phillips County, Arkansas | 9% | 80% | Poorly drained |
| 59 | Bradley County, Arkansas | 9% | 68% | Poorly drained |
| 60 | Crittenden County, Arkansas | 9% | 87% | Poorly drained |
| 61 | Desha County, Arkansas | 8% | 91% | Poorly drained |
| 62 | Craighead County, Arkansas | 7% | 74% | Poorly drained |
| 63 | Lonoke and Prairie Counties, Arkansas | 6% | 68% | Poorly drained |
| 64 | Union County, Arkansas | 5% | 33% | Moderately well drained |
| 65 | Poinsett County, Arkansas | 4% | 90% | Poorly drained |
| 66 | Chicot County, Arkansas | 3% | 93% | Poorly drained |
| 67 | Arkansas County, Arkansas | 3% | 81% | Poorly drained |
| 68 | St. Francis County, Arkansas | 2% | 82% | Poorly drained |
| 69 | Cross County, Arkansas | 2% | 86% | Poorly drained |
| 70 | Mississippi County, Arkansas | 1% | 86% | Poorly drained |