Florida Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across Florida? 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 Gadsden County, Florida at 54% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Monroe County, Keys Area, Florida at 0%. 81% of the land in Monroe County, Keys Area, Florida is poorly drained, so building, septic and gardening there often call for drainage work, engineered septic designs or raised beds.
stays wet (poorly drained)in between, or not ratedwell drained
| # | Survey Area | Land by drainage | Well Drained | Poorly Drained | Most common class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gadsden County, Florida | 54% | 31% | Well drained | |
| 2 | Jackson County, Florida | 52% | 22% | Well drained | |
| 3 | Holmes County, Florida | 50% | 35% | Well drained | |
| 4 | Leon County, Florida | 36% | 40% | Well drained | |
| 5 | Jefferson County, Florida | 35% | 59% | Well drained | |
| 6 | Santa Rosa County, Florida | 34% | 23% | Well drained | |
| 7 | Walton County, Florida | 28% | 35% | Well drained | |
| 8 | Washington County, Florida | 27% | 35% | Well drained | |
| 9 | Marion County Area, Florida | 25% | 41% | Excessively drained | |
| 10 | Madison County, Florida | 24% | 54% | Very poorly drained | |
| 11 | Okaloosa County, Florida | 23% | 24% | Excessively drained | |
| 12 | Calhoun County, Florida | 22% | 56% | Very poorly drained | |
| 13 | Alachua County, Florida | 21% | 53% | Poorly drained | |
| 14 | Escambia County, Florida | 20% | 31% | Somewhat excessively drained | |
| 15 | Suwannee County, Florida | 14% | 20% | Moderately well drained | |
| 16 | Hernando County, Florida | 9% | 48% | Excessively drained | |
| 17 | Citrus County, Florida | 9% | 42% | Excessively drained | |
| 18 | Levy County, Florida | 7% | 64% | Poorly drained | |
| 19 | Pasco County, Florida | 6% | 66% | Poorly drained | |
| 20 | Broward County, Florida, East Part | 5% | 89% | Poorly drained | |
| 21 | Polk County, Florida | 5% | 68% | Poorly drained | |
| 22 | Lake County Area, Florida | 5% | 59% | Very poorly drained | |
| 23 | Liberty County, Florida | 5% | 81% | Very poorly drained | |
| 24 | Miami-Dade County Area, Florida | 4% | 80% | Very poorly drained | |
| 25 | Gilchrist County, Florida | 4% | 33% | Excessively drained | |
| 26 | Hamilton County, Florida | 3% | 64% | Poorly drained | |
| 27 | Hillsborough County, Florida | 3% | 81% | Poorly drained | |
| 28 | Volusia County, Florida | 3% | 78% | Poorly drained | |
| 29 | Columbia County, Florida | 2% | 66% | Poorly drained | |
| 30 | Putnam County Area, Florida | 2% | 72% | Poorly drained | |
| 31 | Sumter County, Florida | 2% | 76% | Poorly drained | |
| 32 | Bay County, Florida | 2% | 79% | Poorly drained | |
| 33 | Clay County, Florida | 2% | 74% | Poorly drained | |
| 34 | Gulf County, Florida | 1% | 94% | Poorly drained | |
| 35 | Big Cypress Reservation, Broward County, Florida | 1% | 98% | Poorly drained | |
| 36 | Martin County, Florida | 1% | 92% | Poorly drained | |
| 37 | Okeechobee County, Florida | 1% | 98% | Poorly drained | |
| 38 | Ocala National Forest Area, Florida | 1% | 28% | Excessively drained | |
| 39 | Palm Beach County Area, Florida | 1% | 96% | Very poorly drained | |
| 40 | Glades County, Florida | 1% | 98% | Poorly drained | |
| 41 | Brevard County, Florida | 0% | 85% | Poorly drained | |
| 42 | Highlands County, Florida | 0% | 85% | Poorly drained | |
| 43 | Flagler County, Florida | 0% | 96% | Poorly drained | |
| 44 | Bradford County, Florida | 0% | 96% | Poorly drained | |
| 45 | St. Lucie County, Florida | 0% | 97% | Poorly drained | |
| 46 | Baker County, Florida | 0% | 98% | Poorly drained | |
| 47 | Union County, Florida | 0% | 95% | Poorly drained | |
| 48 | Hendry County, Florida | 0% | 99% | Poorly drained | |
| 49 | Taylor County, Florida | 0% | 91% | Poorly drained | |
| 50 | Hardee County, Florida | 0% | 97% | Poorly drained | |
| 51 | Charlotte County, Florida | 0% | 98% | Poorly drained | |
| 52 | De Soto County, Florida | 0% | 98% | Poorly drained | |
| 53 | Dixie County, Florida | 0% | 89% | Poorly drained | |
| 54 | Duval County, Florida | 0% | 96% | Poorly drained | |
| 55 | Franklin County, Florida | 0% | 71% | Very poorly drained | |
| 56 | Indian River County, Florida | 0% | 98% | Poorly drained | |
| 57 | Lafayette County, Florida | 0% | 77% | Very poorly drained | |
| 58 | Lee County, Florida | 0% | 98% | Poorly drained | |
| 59 | Manatee County, Florida | 0% | 95% | Poorly drained | |
| 60 | Nassau County, Florida | 0% | 95% | Poorly drained | |
| 61 | Orange County, Florida | 0% | 74% | Poorly drained | |
| 62 | Osceola County, Florida | 0% | 95% | Poorly drained | |
| 63 | Pinellas County, Florida | 0% | 78% | Poorly drained | |
| 64 | St. Johns County, Florida | 0% | 93% | Poorly drained | |
| 65 | Sarasota County, Florida | 0% | 99% | Poorly drained | |
| 66 | Seminole County, Florida | 0% | 73% | Very poorly drained | |
| 67 | Wakulla County, Florida | 0% | 80% | Very poorly drained | |
| 68 | Water Conservation Area, Florida | 0% | 100% | Very poorly drained | |
| 69 | Miccosukee Indian Alligator Alley Reservation, Broward County, Florida | 0% | 100% | Poorly drained | |
| 70 | Collier County Area, Florida | 0% | 99% | Poorly drained | |
| 71 | Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida | 0% | 100% | Very poorly drained | |
| 72 | Everglades National Park, Florida | 0% | 100% | Very poorly drained | |
| 73 | Biscayne National Park, Florida | 0% | 81% | Very poorly drained | |
| 74 | Monroe County, Keys Area, Florida | 0% | 81% | Very poorly drained |