BasementSoil

Arkansas: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

75 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Clay County (76), lowest is Cleburne County (25). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Clay County.

CountyIndexMoistureCracksWater tableRegion
Clay County76648882Mississippi alluvial plain
Monroe County72646695Mississippi alluvial plain
Poinsett County72637882Mississippi alluvial plain
Phillips County71657182Mississippi alluvial plain
Craighead County69636782Mississippi alluvial plain
Greene County69646782Mississippi alluvial plain
St. Francis County69627182Mississippi alluvial plain
Cross County68635695Mississippi alluvial plain
Woodruff County67635295Mississippi alluvial plain
Lawrence County66626182Mississippi alluvial plain
Jackson County65625882Mississippi alluvial plain
Lee County65655482Mississippi alluvial plain
Mississippi County64645182Mississippi alluvial plain
Crittenden County63644982Mississippi alluvial plain
Randolph County61645266Mississippi alluvial plain
Miller County54425282Gulf Coastal Plain
Cleveland County51444966Gulf Coastal Plain
Grant County51395766Gulf Coastal Plain
Bradley County50415266Gulf Coastal Plain
Jefferson County49434666Gulf Coastal Plain
Little River County49403882Gulf Coastal Plain
Ouachita County47394666Gulf Coastal Plain
Chicot County46413966Gulf Coastal Plain
Lincoln County46395746Gulf Coastal Plain
Columbia County43424246Gulf Coastal Plain
Nevada County43424246Gulf Coastal Plain
Sevier County43414346Gulf Coastal Plain
Calhoun County42423946Gulf Coastal Plain
Hempstead County42392966Gulf Coastal Plain
Union County42393066Gulf Coastal Plain
Ashley County41412466Gulf Coastal Plain
Clark County41403846Gulf Coastal Plain
Dallas County41404046Gulf Coastal Plain
Drew County41413846Gulf Coastal Plain
Howard County41412266Gulf Coastal Plain
Desha County38422746Gulf Coastal Plain
Pike County38432446Gulf Coastal Plain
Lafayette County37392746Gulf Coastal Plain
Sebastian County37334830Ouachita Mountains
Hot Spring County36324630Ouachita Mountains
Izard County35324430Ozark highland
Conway County34304130Ouachita Mountains
Perry County33333630Ouachita Mountains
Searcy County33313930Ozark highland
White County33313930Ouachita Mountains
Boone County32313430Ozark highland
Logan County32333330Ouachita Mountains
Baxter County31303230Ozark highland
Carroll County31313330Ozark highland
Crawford County31313330Ozark highland
Fulton County31313130Ozark highland
Independence County31314116Ozark highland
Marion County31313330Ozark highland
Prairie County31314216Ouachita Mountains
Montgomery County30303030Ouachita Mountains
Newton County30322730Ozark highland
Pulaski County30312830Ouachita Mountains
Arkansas County29302730Ouachita Mountains
Saline County29302730Ouachita Mountains
Scott County29323416Ouachita Mountains
Stone County29302730Ozark highland
Yell County29332330Ouachita Mountains
Benton County28341930Ozark highland
Franklin County28332130Ozark highland
Garland County28302430Ouachita Mountains
Johnson County28302530Ozark highland
Lonoke County28312230Ouachita Mountains
Pope County28302530Ouachita Mountains
Sharp County28312230Ozark highland
Van Buren County28341730Ozark highland
Polk County27342516Ouachita Mountains
Madison County26311730Ozark highland
Cleburne County25312216Ozark highland
Faulkner County25322216Ouachita Mountains
Washington County25312416Ozark highland

Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.

The physiographic regions inside Arkansas

State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Arkansas and why each behaves the way it does.

Gulf Coastal Plain

Extremely variable over short distances: deep sand on the ridges, saturated clay in the flats between them. High rainfall and a seasonally high water table make crawlspace and slab moisture the dominant complaint rather than structural movement.

23 counties: Ashley County, Bradley County, Calhoun County, Chicot County, Clark County, Cleveland County, Columbia County, Dallas County, Desha County, Drew County, Grant County, Hempstead County, Howard County, Jefferson County, Lafayette County, Lincoln County, Little River County, Miller County, Nevada County, Ouachita County, Pike County, Sevier County, Union County

Ozark highland

Shallow bedrock and karst pathways. Shrink-swell is low, but water moves through the subsurface in concentrated routes — a basement can be dry for twenty years and then leak through one specific joint in a single event.

19 counties: Baxter County, Benton County, Boone County, Carroll County, Cleburne County, Crawford County, Franklin County, Fulton County, Independence County, Izard County, Johnson County, Madison County, Marion County, Newton County, Searcy County, Sharp County, Stone County, Van Buren County, Washington County

Ouachita Mountains

Steep east-west ridges with shallow bedrock. Sloping sites mean water arrives laterally along the rock surface, so a house cut into a hillside collects it at the uphill wall. Volume change is not the issue; drainage on a slope is.

18 counties: Arkansas County, Conway County, Faulkner County, Garland County, Hot Spring County, Logan County, Lonoke County, Montgomery County, Perry County, Polk County, Pope County, Prairie County, Pulaski County, Saline County, Scott County, Sebastian County, White County, Yell County

Mississippi alluvial plain

Basements are rare here and that is sensible. Where they exist they are under more or less permanent groundwater pressure — not a case for a one-off repair, but for a pump with a backup that never stops mattering.

15 counties: Clay County, Craighead County, Crittenden County, Cross County, Greene County, Jackson County, Lawrence County, Lee County, Mississippi County, Monroe County, Phillips County, Poinsett County, Randolph County, St. Francis County, Woodruff County

Page data updated