Indiana: basement moisture and foundation risk by county
92 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Noble County (79), lowest is Floyd County (33). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Noble County.
| County | Index | Moisture | Cracks | Water table | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noble County | 79 | 73 | 76 | 95 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Steuben County | 75 | 72 | 74 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| DeKalb County | 67 | 71 | 50 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| LaGrange County | 66 | 71 | 48 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Whitley County | 61 | 56 | 52 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Gibson County | 60 | 51 | 57 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Marion County | 60 | 54 | 53 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Boone County | 59 | 57 | 57 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Posey County | 59 | 52 | 52 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Rush County | 59 | 53 | 52 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Sullivan County | 59 | 56 | 57 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Franklin County | 58 | 56 | 43 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Hendricks County | 58 | 55 | 55 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Spencer County | 58 | 52 | 60 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Carroll County | 57 | 54 | 56 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Elkhart County | 57 | 54 | 44 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Fulton County | 57 | 56 | 51 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Monroe County | 57 | 52 | 56 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Putnam County | 57 | 56 | 51 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Shelby County | 57 | 55 | 41 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Warren County | 57 | 55 | 52 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Brown County | 56 | 52 | 53 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Cass County | 56 | 53 | 52 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Clark County | 56 | 53 | 43 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Daviess County | 56 | 56 | 37 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Fayette County | 56 | 53 | 52 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| LaPorte County | 56 | 52 | 53 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Montgomery County | 56 | 56 | 48 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Ohio County | 56 | 54 | 53 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| St. Joseph County | 56 | 53 | 42 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Dubois County | 55 | 51 | 41 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Grant County | 55 | 57 | 44 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Jackson County | 55 | 56 | 34 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Porter County | 55 | 52 | 50 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Tippecanoe County | 55 | 54 | 48 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Warrick County | 55 | 50 | 55 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Adams County | 54 | 52 | 47 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Jasper County | 54 | 55 | 45 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Jennings County | 54 | 55 | 43 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Lawrence County | 54 | 56 | 44 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Pike County | 54 | 54 | 46 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Wayne County | 54 | 52 | 37 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Delaware County | 53 | 57 | 53 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Hancock County | 53 | 54 | 41 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Huntington County | 53 | 54 | 42 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Marshall County | 53 | 55 | 40 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Miami County | 53 | 57 | 39 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Parke County | 53 | 57 | 37 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Ripley County | 53 | 56 | 39 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Tipton County | 53 | 56 | 38 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Vigo County | 53 | 55 | 41 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Clinton County | 52 | 54 | 40 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Howard County | 52 | 55 | 39 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Jay County | 52 | 55 | 39 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Lake County | 52 | 53 | 30 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Morgan County | 52 | 52 | 29 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Union County | 52 | 54 | 39 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Blackford County | 51 | 56 | 48 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Decatur County | 51 | 52 | 38 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Fountain County | 51 | 56 | 32 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Johnson County | 51 | 55 | 49 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Madison County | 51 | 53 | 38 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Vanderburgh County | 51 | 51 | 39 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Newton County | 50 | 56 | 31 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Owen County | 50 | 56 | 30 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Pulaski County | 50 | 54 | 34 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Starke County | 50 | 53 | 33 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Vermillion County | 50 | 55 | 33 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Wabash County | 50 | 54 | 34 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Dearborn County | 49 | 53 | 30 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Hamilton County | 49 | 52 | 34 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Martin County | 49 | 53 | 32 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Wells County | 49 | 52 | 46 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Allen County | 48 | 52 | 30 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Bartholomew County | 48 | 54 | 41 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Henry County | 48 | 55 | 41 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Jefferson County | 48 | 54 | 42 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Kosciusko County | 48 | 54 | 42 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| White County | 47 | 52 | 42 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Benton County | 46 | 56 | 33 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Clay County | 46 | 54 | 36 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Greene County | 46 | 54 | 34 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Randolph County | 46 | 52 | 37 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Knox County | 45 | 53 | 34 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Switzerland County | 44 | 53 | 31 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Harrison County | 43 | 35 | 53 | 46 | Interior Low Plateau karst |
| Washington County | 42 | 33 | 52 | 46 | Interior Low Plateau karst |
| Perry County | 41 | 34 | 46 | 46 | Interior Low Plateau karst |
| Orange County | 39 | 32 | 43 | 46 | Interior Low Plateau karst |
| Crawford County | 35 | 33 | 40 | 30 | Interior Low Plateau karst |
| Scott County | 35 | 31 | 43 | 30 | Interior Low Plateau karst |
| Floyd County | 33 | 33 | 44 | 16 | Interior Low Plateau karst |
Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.
The physiographic regions inside Indiana
State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Indiana and why each behaves the way it does.
Wisconsinan till plain
The classic American basement belt. Below the topsoil sits dense till that water barely penetrates, so infiltrating water travels sideways along it until it meets the first vertical obstruction — typically a basement wall.
73 counties: Adams County, Allen County, Bartholomew County, Benton County, Blackford County, Boone County, Brown County, Carroll County, Cass County, Clay County, Clinton County, Daviess County, Dearborn County, Decatur County, Delaware County, Elkhart County, Fayette County, Fountain County, Franklin County, Fulton County, Grant County, Greene County, Hamilton County, Hancock County, Hendricks County, Henry County, Howard County, Huntington County, Jackson County, Jasper County, Jay County, Jefferson County, Jennings County, Johnson County, Knox County, Kosciusko County, LaPorte County, Lake County, Lawrence County, Madison County, Marion County, Marshall County, Martin County, Miami County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Morgan County, Newton County, Ohio County, Owen County, Parke County, Porter County, Pulaski County, Putnam County, Randolph County, Ripley County, Rush County, Shelby County, St. Joseph County, Starke County, Sullivan County, Switzerland County, Tippecanoe County, Tipton County, Union County, Vermillion County, Vigo County, Wabash County, Warren County, Wayne County, Wells County, White County, Whitley County
Dissected till plain with a claypan
The claypan is a hard clay layer a few tens of centimetres under the lawn. Water sits on it and spreads sideways. The typical symptom is seepage through the upper part of the wall rather than at the floor.
8 counties: Clark County, Dubois County, Gibson County, Pike County, Posey County, Spencer County, Vanderburgh County, Warrick County
Interior Low Plateau karst
Cave country. Infiltration is excellent until it changes: sinkhole activity and collapse are an underrated cause of foundation damage here, and no amount of waterproofing addresses them.
7 counties: Crawford County, Floyd County, Harrison County, Orange County, Perry County, Scott County, Washington County
Glaciolacustrine lake plain
About the least favourable ground for a basement anywhere in the United States. Dead flat, clay with almost no permeability, and historically wetland that was drained artificially. Basements exist here because the houses were built before anyone modelled the consequence.
4 counties: DeKalb County, LaGrange County, Noble County, Steuben County
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