Indiana Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across Indiana? 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 Brown County, Indiana at 86% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Tipton County, Indiana at 0%. With 92% poorly-drained soils, properties in Tipton County, Indiana should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.
| # | Survey Area | Well Drained | Poorly Drained | Dominant Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brown County, Indiana | 86% | 2% | Well drained |
| 2 | Floyd County, Indiana | 85% | 2% | Well drained |
| 3 | Ohio County, Indiana | 82% | 3% | Well drained |
| 4 | Harrison County, Indiana | 82% | 2% | Well drained |
| 5 | Switzerland County, Indiana | 78% | 5% | Well drained |
| 6 | Dearborn County, Indiana | 78% | 7% | Well drained |
| 7 | Monroe County, Indiana | 77% | 5% | Well drained |
| 8 | Lawrence County, Indiana | 73% | 4% | Well drained |
| 9 | Washington County, Indiana | 69% | 10% | Well drained |
| 10 | Fayette County, Indiana | 68% | 17% | Well drained |
| 11 | Martin County, Indiana | 64% | 9% | Well drained |
| 12 | Parke County, Indiana | 61% | 32% | Well drained |
| 13 | Orange County, Indiana | 60% | 3% | Well drained |
| 14 | Franklin County, Indiana | 58% | 19% | Well drained |
| 15 | Clark County, Indiana | 57% | 12% | Well drained |
| 16 | Union County, Indiana | 56% | 19% | Well drained |
| 17 | Jefferson County, Indiana | 56% | 30% | Well drained |
| 18 | Lagrange County, Indiana | 53% | 38% | Well drained |
| 19 | Owen County, Indiana | 50% | 12% | Well drained |
| 20 | Greene County, Indiana | 50% | 22% | Well drained |
| 21 | Morgan County, Indiana | 50% | 32% | Well drained |
| 22 | Knox County, Indiana | 49% | 38% | Well drained |
| 23 | Vermillion County, Indiana | 47% | 40% | Well drained |
| 24 | Dubois County, Indiana | 46% | 16% | Well drained |
| 25 | Posey County, Indiana | 44% | 39% | Well drained |
| 26 | Vigo County, Indiana | 43% | 46% | Well drained |
| 27 | Kosciusko County, Indiana | 43% | 46% | Well drained |
| 28 | Crawford County, Indiana | 42% | 1% | Well drained |
| 29 | Jackson County, Indiana | 40% | 35% | Well drained |
| 30 | Ripley County, Indiana | 39% | 45% | Well drained |
| 31 | La Porte County, Indiana | 38% | 47% | Well drained |
| 32 | Sullivan County, Indiana | 38% | 43% | Well drained |
| 33 | Marshall County, Indiana | 36% | 53% | Well drained |
| 34 | Putnam County, Indiana | 36% | 33% | Well drained |
| 35 | Gibson County, Indiana | 36% | 40% | Well drained |
| 36 | Daviess County, Indiana | 35% | 40% | Well drained |
| 37 | Fountain County, Indiana | 35% | 52% | Well drained |
| 38 | Wayne County, Indiana | 35% | 33% | Well drained |
| 39 | Pike County, Indiana | 35% | 22% | Well drained |
| 40 | Steuben County, Indiana | 34% | 33% | Well drained |
| 41 | Clay County, Indiana | 34% | 44% | Well drained |
| 42 | Fulton County, Indiana | 33% | 59% | Well drained |
| 43 | St. Joseph County, Indiana | 31% | 58% | Well drained |
| 44 | Cass County, Indiana | 30% | 57% | Well drained |
| 45 | Spencer County, Indiana | 30% | 28% | Moderately well drained |
| 46 | Tippecanoe County, Indiana | 29% | 55% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 47 | Bartholomew County, Indiana | 28% | 43% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 48 | Carroll County, Indiana | 27% | 61% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 49 | Warrick County, Indiana | 27% | 28% | Moderately well drained |
| 50 | Jennings County, Indiana | 26% | 37% | Moderately well drained |
| 51 | Henry County, Indiana | 26% | 52% | Poorly drained |
| 52 | Vanderburgh County, Indiana | 25% | 33% | Moderately well drained |
| 53 | Noble County, Indiana | 24% | 39% | Moderately well drained |
| 54 | Marion County, Indiana | 24% | 51% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 55 | Scott County, Indiana | 24% | 27% | Moderately well drained |
| 56 | Rush County, Indiana | 23% | 62% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 57 | Porter County, Indiana | 21% | 57% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 58 | Montgomery County, Indiana | 21% | 65% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 59 | Johnson County, Indiana | 20% | 58% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 60 | Elkhart County, Indiana | 19% | 50% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 61 | Miami County, Indiana | 18% | 59% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 62 | Shelby County, Indiana | 18% | 68% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 63 | Decatur County, Indiana | 18% | 48% | Moderately well drained |
| 64 | Wabash County, Indiana | 16% | 57% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 65 | Lake County, Indiana | 15% | 56% | Poorly drained |
| 66 | Warren County, Indiana | 13% | 46% | Moderately well drained |
| 67 | Delaware County, Indiana | 12% | 70% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 68 | Hendricks County, Indiana | 12% | 71% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 69 | White County, Indiana | 11% | 77% | Poorly drained |
| 70 | Madison County, Indiana | 11% | 74% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 71 | De Kalb County, Indiana | 9% | 65% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 72 | Perry County, Indiana | 9% | 3% | Somewhat excessively drained |
| 73 | Howard County, Indiana | 8% | 83% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 74 | Hamilton County, Indiana | 8% | 72% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 75 | Whitley County, Indiana | 6% | 54% | Moderately well drained |
| 76 | Clinton County, Indiana | 5% | 74% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 77 | Huntington County, Indiana | 5% | 78% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 78 | Randolph County, Indiana | 5% | 53% | Moderately well drained |
| 79 | Allen County, Indiana | 4% | 75% | Very poorly drained |
| 80 | Boone County, Indiana | 4% | 80% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 81 | Grant County, Indiana | 4% | 65% | Very poorly drained |
| 82 | Jasper County, Indiana | 4% | 78% | Poorly drained |
| 83 | Hancock County, Indiana | 3% | 79% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 84 | Wells County, Indiana | 2% | 85% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 85 | Pulaski County, Indiana | 2% | 68% | Poorly drained |
| 86 | Adams County, Indiana | 1% | 90% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 87 | Jay County, Indiana | 1% | 63% | Moderately well drained |
| 88 | Newton County, Indiana | 1% | 73% | Poorly drained |
| 89 | Benton County, Indiana | 1% | 73% | Poorly drained |
| 90 | Blackford County, Indiana | 1% | 67% | Very poorly drained |
| 91 | Starke County, Indiana | 1% | 69% | Poorly drained |
| 92 | Tipton County, Indiana | 0% | 92% | Poorly drained |