Virginia Soil Drainage Rankings

Virginia

How well does the soil drain across Virginia? 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 Arlington County, Virginia at 99% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is Chesapeake City, Virginia at 3%. With 92% poorly-drained soils, properties in Chesapeake City, Virginia should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.

#Survey AreaWell DrainedPoorly DrainedDominant Class
1 Arlington County, Virginia 99% 0% Well drained
2 Henry County, Virginia 98% 0% Well drained
3 Giles County, Virginia 98% 0% Well drained
4 Bedford City, Virginia 98% 1% Well drained
5 Russell County, Virginia 97% 0% Well drained
6 Falls Church City, Virginia 96% 1% Well drained
7 Charlottesville City, Virginia 96% 1% Well drained
8 Staunton City, Virginia 96% 0% Well drained
9 Buchanan County, Virginia 96% 0% Well drained
10 Washington County Area and the City of Bristol, Virginia 94% 1% Well drained
11 Bedford County, Virginia 94% 0% Well drained
12 Franklin County, Virginia 93% 0% Well drained
13 Dickenson County, Virginia 93% 0% Well drained
14 Montgomery County, Virginia 93% 1% Well drained
15 Wise County, Virginia 92% 1% Well drained
16 Patrick County, Virginia 92% 0% Well drained
17 Alexandria City, Virginia 92% 5% Well drained
18 Smyth County, Virginia 91% 0% Well drained
19 Fairfax City, Virginia 91% 7% Well drained
20 Scott County, Virginia 89% 0% Well drained
21 Lee County, Virginia 88% 0% Well drained
22 Wythe County, Virginia 88% 1% Well drained
23 Pittsylvania County and the City of Danville, Virginia 87% 4% Well drained
24 Tazewell County, Virginia 87% 1% Well drained
25 Rockbridge County, Virginia 86% 0% Well drained
26 Lunenburg County, Virginia 84% 5% Well drained
27 Craig County, Virginia 83% 1% Well drained
28 Buckingham County, Virginia 82% 9% Well drained
29 Campbell County and the City of Lynchburg, Virginia 82% 6% Well drained
30 Nottoway County, Virginia 82% 14% Well drained
31 Charlotte County, Virginia 82% 9% Well drained
32 Waynesboro City, Virginia 82% 6% Well drained
33 Appomattox County, Virginia 82% 5% Well drained
34 Clarke County, Virginia 81% 1% Well drained
35 Amelia County, Virginia 81% 10% Well drained
36 Louisa County, Virginia 81% 11% Well drained
37 Bland County, Virginia 81% 2% Well drained
38 Carroll County, Virginia 81% 3% Well drained
39 Pulaski County, Virginia 80% 1% Well drained
40 Bath County, Virginia 80% 0% Well drained
41 Amherst County, Virginia 80% 0% Well drained
42 Jefferson National Forest, Virginia 79% 0% Well drained
43 Warren County, Virginia 79% 1% Well drained
44 Botetourt County, Virginia 79% 0% Well drained
45 Highland County, Virginia 79% 0% Well drained
46 Halifax County and the City of South Boston, Virginia 79% 9% Well drained
47 Page County, Virginia 78% 0% Well drained
48 Fairfax County, Virginia 78% 14% Well drained
49 Winchester City, Virginia 78% 5% Well drained
50 Brunswick County, Virginia 77% 9% Well drained
51 Orange County, Virginia 77% 8% Well drained
52 Goochland County, Virginia 77% 11% Well drained
53 Prince Edward County, Virginia 77% 9% Well drained
54 Powhatan County, Virginia 76% 10% Well drained
55 Cumberland County, Virginia 76% 7% Well drained
56 Roanoke County and the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, Virginia 76% 0% Well drained
57 Augusta County, Virginia 75% 2% Well drained
58 Grayson County, Virginia 73% 3% Well drained
59 Rockingham County, Virginia 73% 1% Well drained
60 Madison County, Virginia 73% 6% Well drained
61 Mecklenburg County, Virginia 73% 11% Well drained
62 Albemarle County, Virginia 72% 2% Well drained
63 Alleghany County, Virginia 72% 0% Well drained
64 King and Queen County, Virginia 71% 9% Well drained
65 Culpeper County, Virginia 71% 26% Well drained
66 Loudoun County, Virginia 71% 22% Well drained
67 Richmond County, Virginia 71% 16% Well drained
68 Frederick County, Virginia 71% 4% Well drained
69 Nelson County, Virginia 70% 2% Well drained
70 Greene County, Virginia 70% 4% Well drained
71 Shenandoah County, Virginia 69% 1% Well drained
72 Essex County, Virginia 68% 15% Well drained
73 City of Richmond, Virginia 68% 15% Well drained
74 Fluvanna County, Virginia 67% 7% Well drained
75 Fauquier County, Virginia 67% 17% Well drained
76 Middlesex County, Virginia 66% 13% Well drained
77 Dinwiddie County Area, Virginia 66% 9% Well drained
78 Spotsylvania County, Virginia 65% 21% Well drained
79 Westmoreland County, Virginia 65% 19% Well drained
80 Floyd County, Virginia 64% 3% Well drained
81 Prince William County, Virginia 64% 15% Well drained
82 Caroline County, Virginia 63% 9% Well drained
83 Stafford and King George Counties, Virginia 59% 17% Well drained
84 Hanover County, Virginia 56% 18% Well drained
85 Chesterfield County, Virginia 52% 22% Well drained
86 Rappahannock County, Virginia 50% 6% Well drained
87 King William County, Virginia 50% 22% Well drained
88 Northumberland and Lancaster Counties, Virginia 44% 16% Well drained
89 Blue Ridge Parkway - Bedford County, Virginia Peaks of Otter Area 43% 0% Well drained
90 Fredericksburg City, Virginia 42% 14% Well drained
91 Northampton County, Virginia 42% 39% Well drained
92 James City and York Counties and the City of Williamsburg, Virginia 41% 19% Well drained
93 Gloucester County, Virginia 40% 32% Well drained
94 Henrico County, Virginia 38% 31% Well drained
95 Prince George County, Virginia 37% 18% Moderately well drained
96 Greensville County, Virginia 29% 33% Moderately well drained
97 Southampton County, Virginia 25% 30% Moderately well drained
98 New Kent County, Virginia 25% 19% Moderately well drained
99 Accomack County, Virginia 22% 61% Very poorly drained
100 Sussex County, Virginia 19% 37% Moderately well drained
101 Charles City County, Virginia 17% 33% Moderately well drained
102 Isle of Wight County, Virginia 16% 42% Moderately well drained
103 Surry County, Virginia 14% 26% Moderately well drained
104 City of Suffolk, Virginia 14% 53% Moderately well drained
105 Mathews County, Virginia 10% 78% Poorly drained
106 City of Virginia Beach, Virginia 8% 77% Poorly drained
107 Tidewater Cities Area, Virginia 5% 62% Poorly drained
108 Chesapeake City, Virginia 3% 92% Poorly drained

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