North Dakota Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across North Dakota? 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 Williams County, North Dakota at 87% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Traill County, North Dakota at 4%. With 81% poorly-drained soils, properties in Traill County, North Dakota should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.
| # | Survey Area | Well Drained | Poorly Drained | Dominant Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams County, North Dakota | 87% | 5% | Well drained |
| 2 | Golden Valley County, North Dakota | 87% | 0% | Well drained |
| 3 | Oliver County, North Dakota | 86% | 4% | Well drained |
| 4 | Emmons County, North Dakota | 85% | 5% | Well drained |
| 5 | McLean County, North Dakota | 83% | 9% | Well drained |
| 6 | Billings County, North Dakota | 83% | 1% | Well drained |
| 7 | McKenzie County, North Dakota | 82% | 2% | Well drained |
| 8 | Mountrail County, North Dakota | 79% | 10% | Well drained |
| 9 | Dunn County, North Dakota | 77% | 4% | Well drained |
| 10 | Stark County, North Dakota | 76% | 4% | Well drained |
| 11 | Grant County, North Dakota | 73% | 4% | Well drained |
| 12 | Burleigh County, North Dakota | 73% | 7% | Well drained |
| 13 | Slope County, North Dakota | 73% | 4% | Well drained |
| 14 | Mercer County, North Dakota | 73% | 3% | Well drained |
| 15 | Morton County, North Dakota | 71% | 4% | Well drained |
| 16 | Hettinger County, North Dakota | 70% | 6% | Well drained |
| 17 | Logan County, North Dakota | 70% | 11% | Well drained |
| 18 | Sioux County, North Dakota | 69% | 2% | Well drained |
| 19 | McIntosh County, North Dakota | 68% | 9% | Well drained |
| 20 | Bowman County, North Dakota | 68% | 3% | Well drained |
| 21 | Sheridan County, North Dakota | 67% | 16% | Well drained |
| 22 | Divide County, North Dakota | 64% | 15% | Well drained |
| 23 | Ward County, North Dakota | 61% | 9% | Well drained |
| 24 | Adams County, North Dakota | 58% | 6% | Well drained |
| 25 | Stutsman County, North Dakota | 57% | 22% | Well drained |
| 26 | Kidder County, North Dakota | 54% | 13% | Well drained |
| 27 | Wells County, North Dakota | 54% | 21% | Well drained |
| 28 | Burke County, North Dakota | 47% | 23% | Well drained |
| 29 | LaMoure County, North Dakota | 44% | 16% | Well drained |
| 30 | Barnes County, North Dakota | 41% | 38% | Well drained |
| 31 | Steele County, North Dakota | 40% | 35% | Well drained |
| 32 | Foster County, North Dakota | 37% | 43% | Well drained |
| 33 | Pierce County, North Dakota | 36% | 27% | Well drained |
| 34 | Eddy County, North Dakota | 36% | 33% | Well drained |
| 35 | Rolette County, North Dakota | 34% | 30% | Well drained |
| 36 | Sargent County, North Dakota | 34% | 25% | Moderately well drained |
| 37 | Dickey County, North Dakota | 32% | 25% | Moderately well drained |
| 38 | Benson County, North Dakota | 32% | 33% | Well drained |
| 39 | Ransom County, North Dakota | 31% | 27% | Well drained |
| 40 | Griggs County, North Dakota | 31% | 40% | Well drained |
| 41 | Nelson County, North Dakota | 28% | 41% | Well drained |
| 42 | McHenry County, North Dakota | 22% | 29% | Moderately well drained |
| 43 | Walsh County, North Dakota | 19% | 50% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 44 | Cavalier County, North Dakota | 16% | 46% | Moderately well drained |
| 45 | Grand Forks County, North Dakota | 12% | 63% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 46 | Richland County, North Dakota | 11% | 66% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 47 | Bottineau County, North Dakota | 11% | 27% | Moderately well drained |
| 48 | Cass County, North Dakota | 11% | 71% | Poorly drained |
| 49 | Renville County, North Dakota | 10% | 8% | Moderately well drained |
| 50 | Ramsey County, North Dakota | 7% | 52% | Moderately well drained |
| 51 | Towner County, North Dakota | 6% | 60% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 52 | Pembina County, North Dakota | 5% | 79% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 53 | Traill County, North Dakota | 4% | 81% | Somewhat poorly drained |