New Jersey Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across New Jersey? 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 Essex County, New Jersey at 70% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Burlington County, New Jersey at 22%. 31% of the land in Burlington County, New Jersey 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 | Essex County, New Jersey | 70% | 21% | Well drained | |
| 2 | Bergen County, New Jersey | 65% | 10% | Well drained | |
| 3 | Gloucester County, New Jersey | 62% | 21% | Well drained | |
| 4 | Hunterdon County, New Jersey | 55% | 20% | Well drained | |
| 5 | Sussex County, New Jersey | 55% | 11% | Well drained | |
| 6 | Warren County, New Jersey | 55% | 14% | Well drained | |
| 7 | Mercer County, New Jersey | 51% | 27% | Well drained | |
| 8 | Hudson County, New Jersey | 50% | 27% | Well drained | |
| 9 | Camden County, New Jersey | 49% | 20% | Well drained | |
| 10 | Somerset County, New Jersey | 48% | 23% | Well drained | |
| 11 | Monmouth County, New Jersey | 46% | 25% | Well drained | |
| 12 | Cumberland County, New Jersey | 44% | 34% | Well drained | |
| 13 | Passaic County, New Jersey | 39% | 30% | Well drained | |
| 14 | Middlesex County, New Jersey | 37% | 32% | Well drained | |
| 15 | Morris County, New Jersey | 36% | 33% | Well drained | |
| 16 | Salem County, New Jersey | 36% | 34% | Well drained | |
| 17 | Union County, New Jersey | 30% | 37% | Moderately well drained | |
| 18 | Atlantic County, New Jersey | 29% | 44% | Well drained | |
| 19 | Ocean County, New Jersey | 28% | 25% | Well drained | |
| 20 | Cape May County, New Jersey | 25% | 54% | Very poorly drained | |
| 21 | Burlington County, New Jersey | 22% | 31% | Moderately well drained |