Mississippi: basement moisture and foundation risk by county
82 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Jefferson County (76), lowest is Calhoun County (36). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Choctaw County.
| County | Index | Moisture | Cracks | Water table | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County | 76 | 66 | 87 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Coahoma County | 75 | 65 | 75 | 95 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Issaquena County | 75 | 66 | 82 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Tunica County | 74 | 64 | 83 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Humphreys County | 72 | 65 | 66 | 95 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Sunflower County | 71 | 63 | 73 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Bolivar County | 70 | 61 | 73 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Copiah County | 70 | 62 | 74 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Neshoba County | 70 | 50 | 100 | 66 | Blackland Prairie and Black Belt |
| Sharkey County | 70 | 64 | 71 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Claiborne County | 68 | 66 | 61 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Kemper County | 66 | 52 | 100 | 46 | Blackland Prairie and Black Belt |
| Lauderdale County | 66 | 52 | 100 | 46 | Blackland Prairie and Black Belt |
| Newton County | 66 | 53 | 100 | 46 | Blackland Prairie and Black Belt |
| Choctaw County | 65 | 50 | 100 | 46 | Blackland Prairie and Black Belt |
| Washington County | 65 | 65 | 52 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Yazoo County | 64 | 62 | 53 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Clarke County | 63 | 54 | 100 | 30 | Blackland Prairie and Black Belt |
| Warren County | 63 | 62 | 50 | 82 | Mississippi alluvial plain |
| Noxubee County | 62 | 52 | 98 | 30 | Blackland Prairie and Black Belt |
| Winston County | 62 | 51 | 100 | 30 | Blackland Prairie and Black Belt |
| Stone County | 55 | 43 | 53 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Monroe County | 54 | 41 | 52 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Jackson County | 52 | 43 | 42 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Lawrence County | 52 | 42 | 57 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Marshall County | 52 | 39 | 49 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Yalobusha County | 52 | 42 | 57 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Madison County | 51 | 43 | 40 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Amite County | 50 | 42 | 50 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Lafayette County | 50 | 41 | 50 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Pike County | 50 | 41 | 39 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Oktibbeha County | 49 | 40 | 50 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Webster County | 49 | 40 | 38 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Jasper County | 48 | 42 | 43 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Lamar County | 48 | 39 | 48 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Leflore County | 48 | 40 | 47 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Quitman County | 48 | 43 | 43 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Rankin County | 48 | 40 | 36 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Holmes County | 47 | 40 | 42 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| George County | 46 | 41 | 52 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Prentiss County | 46 | 44 | 24 | 82 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Tallahatchie County | 46 | 44 | 50 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Tippah County | 46 | 39 | 55 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| DeSoto County | 45 | 41 | 50 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Wilkinson County | 45 | 43 | 32 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Attala County | 44 | 44 | 41 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Clay County | 44 | 41 | 48 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Hinds County | 44 | 40 | 34 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Leake County | 44 | 40 | 33 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Marion County | 44 | 44 | 29 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Montgomery County | 44 | 40 | 34 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Walthall County | 44 | 41 | 48 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Alcorn County | 43 | 44 | 38 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Forrest County | 42 | 41 | 41 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Franklin County | 42 | 41 | 41 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Grenada County | 42 | 41 | 42 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Pearl River County | 42 | 40 | 41 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Pontotoc County | 42 | 42 | 26 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Adams County | 41 | 42 | 21 | 66 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Benton County | 41 | 40 | 38 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Lincoln County | 41 | 43 | 35 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Carroll County | 40 | 43 | 32 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Hancock County | 40 | 42 | 33 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Wayne County | 40 | 40 | 35 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Covington County | 39 | 42 | 31 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Greene County | 39 | 41 | 30 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Jefferson Davis County | 39 | 41 | 31 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Smith County | 39 | 42 | 30 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Tishomingo County | 39 | 41 | 30 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Union County | 39 | 40 | 34 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Chickasaw County | 38 | 41 | 29 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Jones County | 38 | 40 | 29 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Lowndes County | 38 | 40 | 31 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Perry County | 38 | 43 | 26 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Harrison County | 37 | 42 | 25 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Lee County | 37 | 40 | 25 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Panola County | 37 | 41 | 25 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Scott County | 37 | 40 | 26 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Tate County | 37 | 40 | 25 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Calhoun County | 36 | 40 | 24 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Itawamba County | 36 | 40 | 24 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
| Simpson County | 36 | 41 | 23 | 46 | Gulf Coastal Plain |
Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.
The physiographic regions inside Mississippi
State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Mississippi 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.
61 counties: Adams County, Alcorn County, Amite County, Attala County, Benton County, Calhoun County, Carroll County, Chickasaw County, Clay County, Covington County, DeSoto County, Forrest County, Franklin County, George County, Greene County, Grenada County, Hancock County, Harrison County, Hinds County, Holmes County, Itawamba County, Jackson County, Jasper County, Jefferson Davis County, Jones County, Lafayette County, Lamar County, Lawrence County, Leake County, Lee County, Leflore County, Lincoln County, Lowndes County, Madison County, Marion County, Marshall County, Monroe County, Montgomery County, Oktibbeha County, Panola County, Pearl River County, Perry County, Pike County, Pontotoc County, Prentiss County, Quitman County, Rankin County, Scott County, Simpson County, Smith County, Stone County, Tallahatchie County, Tate County, Tippah County, Tishomingo County, Union County, Walthall County, Wayne County, Webster County, Wilkinson County, Yalobusha 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.
13 counties: Bolivar County, Claiborne County, Coahoma County, Copiah County, Humphreys County, Issaquena County, Jefferson County, Sharkey County, Sunflower County, Tunica County, Warren County, Washington County, Yazoo County
Blackland Prairie and Black Belt
The foundation repair capital of the United States. These are Vertisols: clays so expansive that the ground itself opens fissures you can put an arm into during drought, then swells shut after rain. Slabs crack here in houses with faultless drainage, because water is not the mechanism — volume change is.
8 counties: Choctaw County, Clarke County, Kemper County, Lauderdale County, Neshoba County, Newton County, Noxubee County, Winston County
Page data updated