Mississippi Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across Mississippi? 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 Tishomingo County, Mississippi at 77% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Sharkey County, Mississippi at 0%. With 99% poorly-drained soils, properties in Sharkey County, Mississippi should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.
| # | Survey Area | Well Drained | Poorly Drained | Dominant Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tishomingo County, Mississippi | 77% | 10% | Well drained |
| 2 | Lafayette County, Mississippi | 75% | 15% | Well drained |
| 3 | Lauderdale County, Mississippi | 69% | 11% | Well drained |
| 4 | Forrest County, Mississippi | 66% | 15% | Well drained |
| 5 | Marion County, Mississippi | 64% | 16% | Well drained |
| 6 | Jefferson County, Mississippi | 64% | 12% | Well drained |
| 7 | Itawamba County, Mississippi | 63% | 18% | Well drained |
| 8 | Benton County, Mississippi | 62% | 10% | Well drained |
| 9 | Adams County, Mississippi | 62% | 28% | Well drained |
| 10 | Jefferson Davis County, Mississippi | 60% | 11% | Well drained |
| 11 | Stone County, Mississippi | 59% | 24% | Well drained |
| 12 | Yalobusha County, Mississippi | 56% | 5% | Well drained |
| 13 | Neshoba County, Mississippi | 56% | 25% | Well drained |
| 14 | Perry County, Mississippi | 55% | 15% | Well drained |
| 15 | Montgomery County, Mississippi | 55% | 19% | Well drained |
| 16 | Claiborne County, Mississippi | 54% | 19% | Well drained |
| 17 | Prentiss County, Mississippi | 54% | 23% | Well drained |
| 18 | Newton County, Mississippi | 54% | 30% | Well drained |
| 19 | Union County, Mississippi | 54% | 26% | Well drained |
| 20 | Walthall County, Mississippi | 52% | 12% | Well drained |
| 21 | Choctaw County, Mississippi | 51% | 14% | Well drained |
| 22 | Smith County, Mississippi | 50% | 20% | Well drained |
| 23 | Wayne County, Mississippi | 50% | 18% | Well drained |
| 24 | Holmes County, Mississippi | 50% | 23% | Well drained |
| 25 | Kemper County, Mississippi | 50% | 33% | Well drained |
| 26 | Lamar County, Mississippi | 49% | 14% | Well drained |
| 27 | Carroll County, Mississippi | 49% | 8% | Well drained |
| 28 | Jones County, Mississippi | 49% | 26% | Well drained |
| 29 | Marshall County, Mississippi | 48% | 10% | Well drained |
| 30 | Clarke County, Mississippi | 47% | 24% | Well drained |
| 31 | Pearl River County, Mississippi | 47% | 33% | Well drained |
| 32 | Webster County, Mississippi | 47% | 16% | Well drained |
| 33 | Covington County, Mississippi | 47% | 15% | Well drained |
| 34 | Simpson County, Mississippi | 46% | 12% | Well drained |
| 35 | Franklin County, Mississippi | 46% | 10% | Well drained |
| 36 | Jasper County, Mississippi | 46% | 26% | Well drained |
| 37 | Wilkinson County, Mississippi | 45% | 13% | Well drained |
| 38 | Winston County, Mississippi | 45% | 32% | Well drained |
| 39 | Lawrence County, Mississippi | 45% | 12% | Well drained |
| 40 | Attala County, Mississippi | 44% | 21% | Well drained |
| 41 | Warren County, Mississippi | 42% | 42% | Well drained |
| 42 | Harrison County, Mississippi | 42% | 28% | Well drained |
| 43 | Leake County, Mississippi | 42% | 33% | Well drained |
| 44 | Yazoo County, Mississippi | 39% | 39% | Well drained |
| 45 | Tippah County, Mississippi | 38% | 32% | Well drained |
| 46 | George County, Mississippi | 37% | 33% | Well drained |
| 47 | Amite County, Mississippi | 37% | 18% | Moderately well drained |
| 48 | Calhoun County, Mississippi | 36% | 24% | Moderately well drained |
| 49 | Alcorn County, Mississippi | 35% | 30% | Well drained |
| 50 | Greene County, Mississippi | 35% | 23% | Moderately well drained |
| 51 | Lowndes County, Mississippi | 34% | 38% | Well drained |
| 52 | Monroe County, Mississippi | 33% | 42% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 53 | Grenada County, Mississippi | 32% | 39% | Well drained |
| 54 | Hinds County, Mississippi | 31% | 4% | Moderately well drained |
| 55 | Lincoln County, Mississippi | 30% | 20% | Moderately well drained |
| 56 | Copiah County, Mississippi | 30% | 15% | Moderately well drained |
| 57 | Rankin County, Mississippi | 28% | 29% | Moderately well drained |
| 58 | Madison County, Mississippi | 27% | 7% | Moderately well drained |
| 59 | Tallahatchie County, Mississippi | 26% | 65% | Poorly drained |
| 60 | Hancock County, Mississippi | 25% | 51% | Poorly drained |
| 61 | Tate County, Mississippi | 24% | 17% | Moderately well drained |
| 62 | Pike County, Mississippi | 24% | 19% | Moderately well drained |
| 63 | Lee County, Mississippi | 22% | 29% | Moderately well drained |
| 64 | Chickasaw County, Mississippi | 22% | 59% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 65 | Jackson County, Mississippi | 20% | 55% | Very poorly drained |
| 66 | Panola County, Mississippi | 16% | 27% | Moderately well drained |
| 67 | Noxubee County, Mississippi | 16% | 65% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 68 | Leflore County, Mississippi | 15% | 78% | Poorly drained |
| 69 | DeSoto County, Mississippi | 15% | 19% | Moderately well drained |
| 70 | Scott County, Mississippi | 13% | 64% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 71 | Pontotoc County, Mississippi | 13% | 41% | Moderately well drained |
| 72 | Clay County, Mississippi | 12% | 58% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 73 | Oktibbeha County, Mississippi | 12% | 58% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 74 | Coahoma County, Mississippi | 10% | 88% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 75 | Tunica County, Mississippi | 5% | 88% | Poorly drained |
| 76 | Quitman County, Mississippi | 5% | 91% | Poorly drained |
| 77 | Sunflower County, Mississippi | 3% | 96% | Poorly drained |
| 78 | Bolivar County, Mississippi | 2% | 96% | Poorly drained |
| 79 | Humphreys County, Mississippi | 0% | 99% | Poorly drained |
| 80 | Issaquena County, Mississippi | 0% | 98% | Poorly drained |
| 81 | Washington County, Mississippi | 0% | 92% | Poorly drained |
| 82 | Sharkey County, Mississippi | 0% | 99% | Poorly drained |