South Dakota Soil Drainage Rankings

South Dakota

How well does the soil drain across South 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 Meade County, South Dakota, Southern Part at 98% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Lincoln County, South Dakota at 43%.

#Survey AreaWell DrainedPoorly DrainedDominant Class
1 Meade County, South Dakota, Southern Part 98% 0% Well drained
2 Lawrence County, South Dakota 96% 0% Well drained
3 Meade County, South Dakota, Northern Part 96% 0% Well drained
4 Custer and Pennington Counties Area, Prairie Parts, South Dakota 95% 0% Well drained
5 Stanley County, South Dakota 94% 0% Well drained
6 Jones County, South Dakota 94% 2% Well drained
7 Dewey County, South Dakota 94% 1% Well drained
8 Jackson County Area, South Dakota, Northern Part 94% 0% Well drained
9 Haakon County, South Dakota 93% 0% Well drained
10 Ziebach County, South Dakota 93% 0% Well drained
11 Mellette County, South Dakota 91% 0% Well drained
12 Lyman County, South Dakota 91% 2% Well drained
13 Perkins County, South Dakota 90% 0% Well drained
14 Custer and Pennington Counties Area, Black Hills Parts, South Dakota 88% 0% Well drained
15 Butte County, South Dakota 88% 2% Well drained
16 Harding County, South Dakota 88% 1% Well drained
17 Fall River County, South Dakota 87% 0% Well drained
18 Oglala Lakota County Area, South Dakota 87% 1% Well drained
19 Jackson County Area, South Dakota, Southern Part 87% 0% Well drained
20 Gregory County, South Dakota 85% 1% Well drained
21 Potter County, South Dakota 85% 6% Well drained
22 Walworth County, South Dakota 83% 5% Well drained
23 Brule and Buffalo Counties, South Dakota 82% 6% Well drained
24 Corson County, South Dakota 81% 1% Well drained
25 Faulk County, South Dakota 80% 13% Well drained
26 Davison County, South Dakota 80% 12% Well drained
27 Tripp County, South Dakota 80% 2% Well drained
28 Hand County, South Dakota 79% 9% Well drained
29 Hughes County, South Dakota 78% 3% Well drained
30 Sully County, South Dakota 78% 5% Well drained
31 Charles Mix County, South Dakota 78% 5% Well drained
32 McCook County, South Dakota 77% 17% Well drained
33 Campbell County, South Dakota 76% 10% Well drained
34 Moody County, South Dakota 75% 16% Well drained
35 Jerauld County, South Dakota 74% 11% Well drained
36 Hyde County, South Dakota 74% 5% Well drained
37 Minnehaha County, South Dakota 74% 21% Well drained
38 Deuel County, South Dakota 72% 19% Well drained
39 Douglas County, South Dakota 72% 10% Well drained
40 Kingsbury County, South Dakota 71% 14% Well drained
41 Aurora County, South Dakota 70% 15% Well drained
42 Edmunds County, South Dakota 70% 14% Well drained
43 Badlands National Park, South Dakota 68% 0% Well drained
44 Grant County, South Dakota 68% 14% Well drained
45 Roberts County, South Dakota 68% 21% Well drained
46 Hamlin County, South Dakota 68% 22% Well drained
47 Bon Homme County, South Dakota 67% 22% Well drained
48 Todd County, South Dakota 67% 4% Well drained
49 Miner County, South Dakota 67% 14% Well drained
50 Day County, South Dakota 67% 21% Well drained
51 Hanson and Hutchinson Counties, South Dakota 66% 16% Well drained
52 Lake County, South Dakota 65% 23% Well drained
53 Brookings County, South Dakota 65% 26% Well drained
54 Codington County, South Dakota 64% 25% Well drained
55 Beadle County, South Dakota 63% 18% Well drained
56 Clark County, South Dakota 63% 20% Well drained
57 Yankton County, South Dakota 62% 29% Well drained
58 Marshall County, South Dakota 61% 21% Well drained
59 McPherson County, South Dakota 60% 13% Well drained
60 Turner County, South Dakota 59% 23% Well drained
61 Bennett County, South Dakota 59% 8% Well drained
62 Clay County, South Dakota 56% 27% Well drained
63 Union County, South Dakota 55% 29% Well drained
64 Sanborn County, South Dakota 51% 30% Well drained
65 Brown County, South Dakota 45% 20% Well drained
66 Spink County, South Dakota 45% 17% Well drained
67 Lincoln County, South Dakota 43% 23% Well drained

See also: national drainage rankings | South Dakota gardening soil rankings | all South Dakota survey areas