Kansas: basement moisture and foundation risk by county
105 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Anderson County (63), lowest is Morton County (26). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Cowley County.
| County | Index | Moisture | Cracks | Water table | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson County | 63 | 54 | 61 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Butler County | 62 | 45 | 96 | 46 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Pottawatomie County | 62 | 43 | 100 | 46 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Cowley County | 61 | 42 | 100 | 46 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Jackson County | 61 | 53 | 57 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Morris County | 61 | 42 | 100 | 46 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Nemaha County | 61 | 46 | 78 | 66 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Woodson County | 61 | 53 | 70 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Wyandotte County | 60 | 50 | 69 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Chase County | 59 | 45 | 88 | 46 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Doniphan County | 59 | 52 | 65 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Elk County | 59 | 44 | 100 | 30 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Franklin County | 59 | 51 | 55 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Labette County | 59 | 49 | 56 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Chautauqua County | 58 | 43 | 89 | 46 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Crawford County | 58 | 49 | 65 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Jefferson County | 58 | 49 | 65 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Linn County | 58 | 52 | 60 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Miami County | 58 | 49 | 66 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Lyon County | 57 | 42 | 85 | 46 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Bourbon County | 56 | 49 | 46 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Greenwood County | 56 | 45 | 100 | 16 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Wilson County | 56 | 51 | 55 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Brown County | 55 | 49 | 55 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Johnson County | 55 | 51 | 52 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Riley County | 55 | 44 | 87 | 30 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Atchison County | 54 | 50 | 40 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Coffey County | 54 | 50 | 38 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Douglas County | 54 | 49 | 42 | 82 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Leavenworth County | 54 | 53 | 48 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Marshall County | 54 | 42 | 87 | 30 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Neosho County | 54 | 52 | 47 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Wabaunsee County | 54 | 44 | 84 | 30 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Osage County | 53 | 49 | 50 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Geary County | 52 | 43 | 68 | 46 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Montgomery County | 52 | 54 | 39 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Cherokee County | 51 | 52 | 39 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Shawnee County | 51 | 51 | 41 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Allen County | 50 | 50 | 38 | 66 | Dissected till plain with a claypan |
| Barber County | 50 | 40 | 68 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Washington County | 50 | 43 | 73 | 30 | Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas |
| Pawnee County | 49 | 40 | 63 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Kiowa County | 48 | 38 | 63 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Lincoln County | 47 | 36 | 63 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Saline County | 47 | 40 | 58 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Edwards County | 46 | 35 | 62 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Harper County | 46 | 39 | 55 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Barton County | 45 | 38 | 55 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Osborne County | 45 | 39 | 53 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Reno County | 45 | 37 | 54 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Clay County | 44 | 38 | 52 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Smith County | 44 | 40 | 59 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Comanche County | 43 | 40 | 56 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Dickinson County | 43 | 40 | 67 | 16 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Ellis County | 43 | 35 | 63 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Pratt County | 43 | 39 | 58 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Rooks County | 43 | 39 | 57 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| McPherson County | 42 | 40 | 52 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Rice County | 42 | 36 | 58 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Sumner County | 42 | 39 | 43 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Harvey County | 41 | 36 | 43 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Jewell County | 41 | 38 | 52 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Kingman County | 41 | 36 | 43 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Marion County | 40 | 36 | 54 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Mitchell County | 40 | 38 | 59 | 16 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Republic County | 40 | 37 | 40 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Stafford County | 40 | 40 | 37 | 46 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Cloud County | 39 | 40 | 43 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Gove County | 39 | 33 | 53 | 30 | High Plains |
| Ottawa County | 39 | 36 | 51 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Sedgwick County | 39 | 36 | 49 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Ellsworth County | 37 | 40 | 39 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Ford County | 37 | 31 | 49 | 30 | High Plains |
| Graham County | 37 | 32 | 49 | 30 | High Plains |
| Phillips County | 37 | 39 | 39 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Russell County | 37 | 40 | 39 | 30 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Thomas County | 37 | 32 | 49 | 30 | High Plains |
| Cheyenne County | 36 | 34 | 44 | 30 | High Plains |
| Gray County | 36 | 33 | 56 | 16 | High Plains |
| Grant County | 35 | 31 | 43 | 30 | High Plains |
| Kearny County | 35 | 31 | 44 | 30 | High Plains |
| Rawlins County | 35 | 32 | 43 | 30 | High Plains |
| Wallace County | 35 | 31 | 54 | 16 | High Plains |
| Clark County | 34 | 34 | 48 | 16 | High Plains |
| Ness County | 34 | 31 | 51 | 16 | High Plains |
| Rush County | 34 | 40 | 38 | 16 | Smoky Hills and central plains |
| Finney County | 33 | 32 | 46 | 16 | High Plains |
| Lane County | 33 | 32 | 36 | 30 | High Plains |
| Seward County | 33 | 30 | 50 | 16 | High Plains |
| Stanton County | 33 | 34 | 43 | 16 | High Plains |
| Trego County | 33 | 31 | 48 | 16 | High Plains |
| Decatur County | 32 | 32 | 43 | 16 | High Plains |
| Hamilton County | 32 | 34 | 42 | 16 | High Plains |
| Norton County | 32 | 32 | 43 | 16 | High Plains |
| Scott County | 32 | 30 | 36 | 30 | High Plains |
| Stevens County | 32 | 30 | 37 | 30 | High Plains |
| Hodgeman County | 31 | 31 | 41 | 16 | High Plains |
| Sheridan County | 31 | 30 | 44 | 16 | High Plains |
| Sherman County | 31 | 32 | 30 | 30 | High Plains |
| Wichita County | 31 | 34 | 29 | 30 | High Plains |
| Logan County | 30 | 31 | 39 | 16 | High Plains |
| Meade County | 28 | 34 | 28 | 16 | High Plains |
| Greeley County | 27 | 30 | 32 | 16 | High Plains |
| Haskell County | 27 | 33 | 28 | 16 | High Plains |
| Morton County | 26 | 31 | 25 | 16 | High Plains |
Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.
The physiographic regions inside Kansas
State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Kansas and why each behaves the way it does.
Smoky Hills and central plains
Middling values on all three axes. The commonest real problem here is not the soil but ground that slopes towards the house.
34 counties: Barber County, Barton County, Clay County, Cloud County, Comanche County, Dickinson County, Edwards County, Ellis County, Ellsworth County, Harper County, Harvey County, Jewell County, Kingman County, Kiowa County, Lincoln County, Marion County, McPherson County, Mitchell County, Osborne County, Ottawa County, Pawnee County, Phillips County, Pratt County, Reno County, Republic County, Rice County, Rooks County, Rush County, Russell County, Saline County, Sedgwick County, Smith County, Stafford County, Sumner County
High Plains
The water table is tens of metres down and rainfall is low. Basement damp here is nearly always condensation or a failed supply line rather than groundwater — and that distinction is worth thousands of dollars.
31 counties: Cheyenne County, Clark County, Decatur County, Finney County, Ford County, Gove County, Graham County, Grant County, Gray County, Greeley County, Hamilton County, Haskell County, Hodgeman County, Kearny County, Lane County, Logan County, Meade County, Morton County, Ness County, Norton County, Rawlins County, Scott County, Seward County, Sheridan County, Sherman County, Stanton County, Stevens County, Thomas County, Trego County, Wallace County, Wichita 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.
25 counties: Allen County, Anderson County, Atchison County, Bourbon County, Brown County, Cherokee County, Coffey County, Crawford County, Doniphan County, Douglas County, Franklin County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Johnson County, Labette County, Leavenworth County, Linn County, Miami County, Montgomery County, Neosho County, Osage County, Shawnee County, Wilson County, Woodson County, Wyandotte County
Flint Hills and Osage Cuestas
One of the most expansive soil belts east of the Rockies. Foundation cracks occur here in houses with faultless drainage, because the cause is not water in the basement but volume change in the clay under the footing.
15 counties: Butler County, Chase County, Chautauqua County, Cowley County, Elk County, Geary County, Greenwood County, Lyon County, Marshall County, Morris County, Nemaha County, Pottawatomie County, Riley County, Wabaunsee County, Washington County
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