Tennessee Soil Drainage Rankings

Tennessee

How well does the soil drain across Tennessee? 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 Morgan County Area, Tennessee at 99% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Lake County, Tennessee at 4%. With 68% poorly-drained soils, properties in Lake County, Tennessee should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.

#Survey AreaWell DrainedPoorly DrainedDominant Class
1 Morgan County Area, Tennessee 99% 0% Well drained
2 Scott County Area, Tennessee 99% 0% Well drained
3 Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Kentucky and Tennessee 99% 0% Well drained
4 Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina 95% 0% Well drained
5 Loudon County, Tennessee 92% 0% Well drained
6 Anderson County, Tennessee 90% 1% Well drained
7 Roane County, Tennessee 90% 0% Well drained
8 Campbell County, Tennessee 89% 0% Well drained
9 Monroe County, Tennessee 89% 1% Well drained
10 Grundy County, Tennessee 88% 1% Well drained
11 Smith County, Tennessee 88% 0% Well drained
12 Polk County, Tennessee 88% 0% Well drained
13 Sullivan County, Tennessee 88% 1% Well drained
14 Knox County, Tennessee 87% 1% Well drained
15 Trousdale County, Tennessee 87% 2% Well drained
16 Wilson County, Tennessee 87% 2% Well drained
17 Rutherford County, Tennessee 86% 8% Well drained
18 Sequatchie County, Tennessee 85% 0% Well drained
19 Claiborne County, Tennessee 85% 0% Well drained
20 Carter County, Tennessee 85% 0% Well drained
21 Overton County, Tennessee 84% 1% Well drained
22 Washington County, Tennessee 83% 0% Well drained
23 Marshall County, Tennessee 81% 2% Well drained
24 Grainger County, Tennessee 81% 0% Well drained
25 Cumberland County, Tennessee 81% 0% Well drained
26 Fentress and Pickett Counties Area, Tennessee 80% 0% Well drained
27 Jefferson County, Tennessee 80% 1% Well drained
28 McMinn County, Tennessee 80% 1% Well drained
29 Hamblen County, Tennessee 79% 1% Well drained
30 Clay County, Tennessee 78% 0% Well drained
31 Bradley County, Tennessee 77% 7% Well drained
32 Bledsoe County, Tennessee 77% 0% Well drained
33 Montgomery County, Tennessee 77% 4% Well drained
34 Maury County, Tennessee 77% 2% Well drained
35 Johnson County, Tennessee 77% 0% Well drained
36 Unicoi County, Tennessee 76% 0% Well drained
37 Dickson County, Tennessee 75% 0% Well drained
38 Bedford County, Tennessee 75% 8% Well drained
39 Meigs County, Tennessee 73% 3% Well drained
40 White County Area and Van Buren County, Tennessee 73% 1% Well drained
41 Cocke County Area, Tennessee 72% 1% Well drained
42 Davidson County, Tennessee 71% 1% Well drained
43 Williamson County, Tennessee 69% 2% Well drained
44 Rhea County, Tennessee 69% 1% Well drained
45 Warren County, Tennessee 68% 4% Well drained
46 Hamilton County, Tennessee 68% 2% Well drained
47 Putnam County and Parts of White County, Tennessee 67% 3% Well drained
48 Union County, Tennessee 67% 0% Well drained
49 Marion County, Tennessee 67% 3% Well drained
50 Sumner County, Tennessee 67% 2% Well drained
51 Blount County Area, Tennessee 67% 0% Well drained
52 Lincoln County, Tennessee 65% 8% Well drained
53 Hawkins and Hancock Counties, Tennessee 64% 0% Well drained
54 Robertson County, Tennessee 64% 4% Well drained
55 Giles County, Tennessee 63% 5% Well drained
56 Hardeman County, Tennessee 63% 21% Well drained
57 Henry County, Tennessee 62% 15% Well drained
58 Franklin County, Tennessee 61% 7% Well drained
59 Chester County, Tennessee 59% 20% Well drained
60 Henderson County, Tennessee 58% 25% Well drained
61 McNairy County, Tennessee 57% 19% Well drained
62 Cannon County, Tennessee 56% 3% Well drained
63 Sevier County Area, Tennessee 56% 0% Well drained
64 Madison County, Tennessee 56% 20% Well drained
65 Greene County, Tennessee 56% 1% Well drained
66 Houston County, Tennessee 54% 0% Well drained
67 Hardin County, Tennessee 54% 13% Well drained
68 Jackson County, Tennessee 54% 0% Well drained
69 Moore County, Tennessee 52% 3% Well drained
70 DeKalb County, Tennessee 51% 3% Well drained
71 Macon County, Tennessee 49% 0% Well drained
72 Tipton County, Tennessee 48% 19% Well drained
73 Carroll County, Tennessee 47% 26% Well drained
74 Benton County, Tennessee 47% 6% Well drained
75 Coffee County, Tennessee 46% 14% Well drained
76 Wayne County, Tennessee 42% 1% Somewhat excessively drained
77 Lawrence County, Tennessee 40% 4% Well drained
78 Decatur County, Tennessee 40% 12% Well drained
79 Lauderdale County, Tennessee 38% 38% Well drained
80 Stewart County, Tennessee 36% 4% Well drained
81 Hickman County, Tennessee 36% 0% Somewhat excessively drained
82 Shelby County, Tennessee 35% 35% Well drained
83 Cheatham County, Tennessee 35% 3% Somewhat excessively drained
84 Obion County, Tennessee 29% 39% Moderately well drained
85 Haywood County, Tennessee 22% 24% Moderately well drained
86 Perry County, Tennessee 20% 2% Somewhat excessively drained
87 Humphreys County, Tennessee 19% 1% Somewhat excessively drained
88 Fayette County, Tennessee 17% 31% Moderately well drained
89 Gibson County, Tennessee 17% 27% Moderately well drained
90 Weakley County, Tennessee 13% 28% Moderately well drained
91 Dyer County, Tennessee 12% 63% Poorly drained
92 Lewis County, Tennessee 11% 1% Somewhat excessively drained
93 Crockett County, Tennessee 7% 21% Moderately well drained
94 Lake County, Tennessee 4% 68% Somewhat poorly drained

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