Missouri Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across Missouri? 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 Cape Girardeau County, Missouri at 74% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Livingston County, Missouri at 0%. With 86% poorly-drained soils, properties in Livingston County, Missouri should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.
| # | Survey Area | Well Drained | Poorly Drained | Dominant Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Girardeau County, Missouri | 74% | 14% | Well drained |
| 2 | Perry County, Missouri | 62% | 9% | Well drained |
| 3 | Camden County, Missouri | 61% | 0% | Well drained |
| 4 | Washington County, Missouri | 60% | 1% | Well drained |
| 5 | Benton County, Missouri | 59% | 12% | Well drained |
| 6 | Hickory County, Missouri | 59% | 11% | Well drained |
| 7 | Atchison County, Missouri | 56% | 35% | Well drained |
| 8 | Howell County, Missouri | 55% | 4% | Well drained |
| 9 | Jefferson County, Missouri | 54% | 4% | Well drained |
| 10 | St. Clair County, Missouri | 54% | 7% | Well drained |
| 11 | Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri | 53% | 3% | Well drained |
| 12 | Dade County, Missouri | 51% | 5% | Well drained |
| 13 | Crawford County, Missouri | 50% | 4% | Well drained |
| 14 | St. Francois County, Missouri | 50% | 2% | Well drained |
| 15 | Greene County, Missouri | 50% | 8% | Well drained |
| 16 | Morgan County, Missouri | 50% | 22% | Well drained |
| 17 | Holt County, Missouri | 50% | 37% | Well drained |
| 18 | Buchanan County, Missouri | 49% | 32% | Well drained |
| 19 | Oregon County, Missouri | 45% | 2% | Well drained |
| 20 | Cedar County, Missouri | 44% | 3% | Moderately well drained |
| 21 | Wayne County, Missouri | 44% | 4% | Well drained |
| 22 | Reynolds County, Missouri | 43% | 0% | Well drained |
| 23 | Ozark County, Missouri | 43% | 0% | Well drained |
| 24 | Christian County, Missouri | 43% | 0% | Well drained |
| 25 | Jasper County, Missouri | 41% | 10% | Well drained |
| 26 | Lincoln County, Missouri | 41% | 42% | Well drained |
| 27 | St. Louis County and St. Louis City, Missouri | 40% | 21% | Well drained |
| 28 | Sullivan County, Missouri | 40% | 39% | Well drained |
| 29 | Franklin County, Missouri | 39% | 7% | Moderately well drained |
| 30 | Polk County, Missouri | 39% | 8% | Moderately well drained |
| 31 | Nodaway County, Missouri | 37% | 35% | Well drained |
| 32 | Andrew County, Missouri | 37% | 53% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 33 | Carter County, Missouri | 36% | 0% | Somewhat excessively drained |
| 34 | Stone County, Missouri | 36% | 0% | Well drained |
| 35 | Cooper County, Missouri | 36% | 30% | Well drained |
| 36 | Madison County, Missouri | 36% | 1% | Well drained |
| 37 | Ripley County, Missouri | 35% | 6% | Well drained |
| 38 | Dallas County, Missouri | 35% | 5% | Moderately well drained |
| 39 | Mercer County, Missouri | 35% | 32% | Well drained |
| 40 | Callaway County, Missouri | 35% | 50% | Well drained |
| 41 | Bollinger County, Missouri | 35% | 10% | Well drained |
| 42 | McDonald County, Missouri | 34% | 2% | Somewhat excessively drained |
| 43 | Jackson County, Missouri | 34% | 35% | Well drained |
| 44 | Pulaski County, Missouri | 33% | 2% | Moderately well drained |
| 45 | Henry County, Missouri | 33% | 29% | Well drained |
| 46 | Warren County, Missouri | 33% | 37% | Well drained |
| 47 | Taney County, Missouri | 33% | 0% | Moderately well drained |
| 48 | Vernon County, Missouri | 33% | 30% | Moderately well drained |
| 49 | Howard County, Missouri | 33% | 27% | Moderately well drained |
| 50 | Miller County, Missouri | 32% | 5% | Moderately well drained |
| 51 | Lafayette County, Missouri | 32% | 51% | Well drained |
| 52 | Webster County, Missouri | 31% | 3% | Moderately well drained |
| 53 | Platte County, Missouri | 31% | 23% | Moderately well drained |
| 54 | Phelps County, Missouri | 30% | 13% | Moderately well drained |
| 55 | Douglas County, Missouri | 29% | 0% | Moderately well drained |
| 56 | Harrison County, Missouri | 29% | 59% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 57 | Pike County, Missouri | 28% | 57% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 58 | Iron County, Missouri | 28% | 1% | Moderately well drained |
| 59 | Saline County, Missouri | 28% | 52% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 60 | St. Charles County, Missouri | 27% | 34% | Moderately well drained |
| 61 | Shannon County, Missouri | 26% | 0% | Somewhat excessively drained |
| 62 | Laclede County, Missouri | 26% | 2% | Moderately well drained |
| 63 | Barton County, Missouri | 26% | 42% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 64 | Lawrence County, Missouri | 25% | 5% | Moderately well drained |
| 65 | Marion County, Missouri | 25% | 57% | Poorly drained |
| 66 | Texas County, Missouri | 25% | 3% | Moderately well drained |
| 67 | Gentry County, Missouri | 25% | 61% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 68 | Wright County, Missouri | 23% | 2% | Moderately well drained |
| 69 | Scotland County, Missouri | 23% | 72% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 70 | Osage County, Missouri | 21% | 13% | Moderately well drained |
| 71 | Putnam County, Missouri | 21% | 34% | Moderately well drained |
| 72 | Grundy County, Missouri | 21% | 64% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 73 | Ralls County, Missouri | 20% | 58% | Poorly drained |
| 74 | Newton County, Missouri | 20% | 7% | Moderately well drained |
| 75 | Scott County, Missouri | 20% | 40% | Poorly drained |
| 76 | Pettis County, Missouri | 20% | 68% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 77 | Johnson County, Missouri | 20% | 51% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 78 | Clark County, Missouri | 19% | 62% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 79 | Montgomery County, Missouri | 18% | 54% | Poorly drained |
| 80 | Bates County, Missouri | 18% | 16% | Moderately well drained |
| 81 | Barry County, Missouri | 18% | 2% | Moderately well drained |
| 82 | Boone County, Missouri | 17% | 50% | Moderately well drained |
| 83 | Cass County, Missouri | 17% | 36% | Moderately well drained |
| 84 | Worth County, Missouri | 17% | 34% | Moderately well drained |
| 85 | Lewis County, Missouri | 16% | 66% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 86 | Clay County, Missouri | 16% | 28% | Moderately well drained |
| 87 | Dunklin County, Missouri | 16% | 63% | Poorly drained |
| 88 | Gasconade County, Missouri | 16% | 10% | Moderately well drained |
| 89 | Schuyler County, Missouri | 15% | 52% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 90 | Maries County, Missouri | 15% | 8% | Moderately well drained |
| 91 | Cole County, Missouri | 15% | 16% | Moderately well drained |
| 92 | Moniteau County, Missouri | 15% | 29% | Moderately well drained |
| 93 | De Kalb County, Missouri | 14% | 75% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 94 | Knox County, Missouri | 14% | 81% | Poorly drained |
| 95 | Randolph County, Missouri | 11% | 74% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 96 | Ray County, Missouri | 11% | 48% | Moderately well drained |
| 97 | Daviess County, Missouri | 10% | 73% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 98 | Carroll County, Missouri | 10% | 60% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 99 | Monroe County, Missouri | 10% | 84% | Poorly drained |
| 100 | Clinton County, Missouri | 9% | 69% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 101 | Stoddard County, Missouri | 9% | 68% | Poorly drained |
| 102 | New Madrid County, Missouri | 8% | 81% | Poorly drained |
| 103 | Chariton County, Missouri | 8% | 81% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 104 | Shelby County, Missouri | 7% | 90% | Poorly drained |
| 105 | Butler County, Missouri | 7% | 47% | Poorly drained |
| 106 | Dent County, Missouri | 7% | 2% | Moderately well drained |
| 107 | Mississippi County, Missouri | 3% | 63% | Poorly drained |
| 108 | Adair County, Missouri | 3% | 55% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 109 | Caldwell County, Missouri | 3% | 72% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 110 | Macon County, Missouri | 1% | 55% | Moderately well drained |
| 111 | Audrain County, Missouri | 0% | 97% | Poorly drained |
| 112 | Pemiscot County, Missouri | 0% | 83% | Poorly drained |
| 113 | Linn County, Missouri | 0% | 72% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 114 | Livingston County, Missouri | 0% | 86% | Somewhat poorly drained |