Ohio Soil Drainage Rankings
How well does the soil drain across Ohio? 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 Jefferson County, Ohio at 93% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Ashtabula County, Ohio at 0%. With 87% poorly-drained soils, properties in Ashtabula County, Ohio should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.
| # | Survey Area | Well Drained | Poorly Drained | Dominant Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jefferson County, Ohio | 93% | 0% | Well drained |
| 2 | Lawrence County, Ohio | 92% | 1% | Well drained |
| 3 | Washington County, Ohio | 89% | 0% | Well drained |
| 4 | Hamilton County, Ohio | 87% | 2% | Well drained |
| 5 | Meigs County, Ohio | 86% | 2% | Well drained |
| 6 | Noble County, Ohio | 85% | 2% | Well drained |
| 7 | Carroll County, Ohio | 80% | 8% | Well drained |
| 8 | Hocking County, Ohio | 79% | 3% | Well drained |
| 9 | Adams County, Ohio | 77% | 1% | Well drained |
| 10 | Monroe County, Ohio | 77% | 0% | Well drained |
| 11 | Belmont County, Ohio | 76% | 1% | Well drained |
| 12 | Scioto County, Ohio | 76% | 2% | Well drained |
| 13 | Athens County, Ohio | 75% | 2% | Well drained |
| 14 | Morgan County, Ohio | 74% | 1% | Well drained |
| 15 | Butler County, Ohio | 73% | 11% | Well drained |
| 16 | Gallia County, Ohio | 69% | 3% | Well drained |
| 17 | Harrison County, Ohio | 69% | 6% | Well drained |
| 18 | Vinton County, Ohio | 65% | 2% | Well drained |
| 19 | Pike County, Ohio | 62% | 4% | Well drained |
| 20 | Perry County, Ohio | 59% | 9% | Well drained |
| 21 | Guernsey County, Ohio | 57% | 7% | Well drained |
| 22 | Tuscarawas County, Ohio | 56% | 14% | Well drained |
| 23 | Ross County, Ohio | 56% | 14% | Well drained |
| 24 | Muskingum County, Ohio | 55% | 6% | Well drained |
| 25 | Montgomery County, Ohio | 54% | 27% | Well drained |
| 26 | Holmes County, Ohio | 52% | 11% | Well drained |
| 27 | Clark County, Ohio | 51% | 37% | Well drained |
| 28 | Greene County, Ohio | 49% | 37% | Well drained |
| 29 | Jackson County, Ohio | 49% | 8% | Well drained |
| 30 | Warren County, Ohio | 49% | 27% | Well drained |
| 31 | Pickaway County, Ohio | 47% | 41% | Well drained |
| 32 | Coshocton County, Ohio | 46% | 7% | Well drained |
| 33 | Columbiana County, Ohio | 44% | 12% | Well drained |
| 34 | Stark County, Ohio | 44% | 27% | Well drained |
| 35 | Fairfield County, Ohio | 42% | 30% | Well drained |
| 36 | Knox County, Ohio | 41% | 23% | Well drained |
| 37 | Highland County, Ohio | 39% | 28% | Well drained |
| 38 | Clermont County, Ohio | 38% | 34% | Well drained |
| 39 | Preble County, Ohio | 37% | 35% | Well drained |
| 40 | Licking County, Ohio | 36% | 32% | Well drained |
| 41 | Ashland County, Ohio | 35% | 30% | Well drained |
| 42 | Brown County, Ohio | 33% | 37% | Well drained |
| 43 | Richland County, Ohio | 32% | 36% | Well drained |
| 44 | Summit County, Ohio | 31% | 29% | Moderately well drained |
| 45 | Miami County, Ohio | 31% | 58% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 46 | Wayne County, Ohio | 30% | 32% | Moderately well drained |
| 47 | Logan County, Ohio | 25% | 59% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 48 | Champaign County, Ohio | 23% | 46% | Moderately well drained |
| 49 | Fayette County, Ohio | 23% | 60% | Poorly drained |
| 50 | Clinton County, Ohio | 19% | 55% | Moderately well drained |
| 51 | Portage County, Ohio | 19% | 57% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 52 | Darke County, Ohio | 17% | 72% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 53 | Mahoning County, Ohio | 16% | 48% | Moderately well drained |
| 54 | Cuyahoga County, Ohio | 16% | 64% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 55 | Franklin County, Ohio | 13% | 68% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 56 | Erie County, Ohio | 13% | 70% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 57 | Morrow County, Ohio | 13% | 45% | Moderately well drained |
| 58 | Lake County, Ohio | 12% | 66% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 59 | Sandusky County, Ohio | 11% | 84% | Very poorly drained |
| 60 | Geauga County, Ohio | 10% | 59% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 61 | Trumbull County, Ohio | 10% | 74% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 62 | Madison County, Ohio | 8% | 83% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 63 | Huron County, Ohio | 8% | 63% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 64 | Medina County, Ohio | 7% | 54% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 65 | Seneca County, Ohio | 7% | 84% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 66 | Delaware County, Ohio | 7% | 62% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 67 | Ottawa County, Ohio | 5% | 91% | Very poorly drained |
| 68 | Shelby County, Ohio | 5% | 76% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 69 | Wyandot County, Ohio | 5% | 77% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 70 | Lorain County, Ohio | 4% | 86% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 71 | Marion County, Ohio | 3% | 80% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 72 | Union County, Ohio | 3% | 83% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 73 | Auglaize County, Ohio | 3% | 81% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 74 | Williams County, Ohio | 3% | 79% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 75 | Crawford County, Ohio | 2% | 79% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 76 | Lucas County, Ohio | 2% | 84% | Very poorly drained |
| 77 | Allen County, Ohio | 2% | 79% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 78 | Defiance County, Ohio | 2% | 89% | Very poorly drained |
| 79 | Wood County, Ohio | 2% | 91% | Very poorly drained |
| 80 | Fulton County, Ohio | 2% | 81% | Very poorly drained |
| 81 | Hancock County, Ohio | 1% | 81% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 82 | Hardin County, Ohio | 1% | 87% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 83 | Putnam County, Ohio | 1% | 94% | Very poorly drained |
| 84 | Mercer County, Ohio | 1% | 86% | Somewhat poorly drained |
| 85 | Paulding County, Ohio | 1% | 95% | Very poorly drained |
| 86 | Henry County, Ohio | 0% | 93% | Very poorly drained |
| 87 | Van Wert County, Ohio | 0% | 96% | Very poorly drained |
| 88 | Ashtabula County, Ohio | 0% | 87% | Somewhat poorly drained |