Ohio: basement moisture and foundation risk by county
88 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Williams County (78), lowest is Coshocton County (29). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Williams County.
| County | Index | Moisture | Cracks | Water table | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams County | 78 | 74 | 72 | 95 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Fulton County | 77 | 73 | 70 | 95 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Huron County | 76 | 71 | 69 | 95 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Lucas County | 74 | 74 | 69 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Seneca County | 74 | 71 | 62 | 95 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Defiance County | 73 | 74 | 66 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Erie County | 73 | 74 | 57 | 95 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Sandusky County | 73 | 72 | 67 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Wood County | 71 | 71 | 53 | 95 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Hancock County | 70 | 73 | 57 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Paulding County | 69 | 71 | 68 | 66 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Ottawa County | 68 | 73 | 50 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Putnam County | 67 | 72 | 48 | 82 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Henry County | 65 | 74 | 53 | 66 | Glaciolacustrine lake plain |
| Madison County | 62 | 56 | 56 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Richland County | 62 | 57 | 54 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Jackson County | 60 | 53 | 53 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Miami County | 59 | 57 | 56 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Van Wert County | 59 | 57 | 57 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Adams County | 58 | 54 | 45 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Warren County | 58 | 54 | 47 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Wyandot County | 58 | 54 | 57 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Delaware County | 57 | 57 | 51 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Gallia County | 57 | 57 | 52 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Brown County | 56 | 54 | 39 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Knox County | 56 | 53 | 52 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Pickaway County | 56 | 57 | 46 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Ross County | 56 | 55 | 50 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Shelby County | 56 | 53 | 54 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Fayette County | 55 | 53 | 50 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Highland County | 55 | 52 | 39 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Logan County | 55 | 57 | 32 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Allen County | 54 | 54 | 46 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Franklin County | 54 | 53 | 46 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Marion County | 54 | 55 | 43 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Montgomery County | 54 | 53 | 34 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Vinton County | 54 | 56 | 43 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Clermont County | 53 | 56 | 39 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Greene County | 53 | 56 | 39 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Union County | 53 | 56 | 38 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Butler County | 52 | 52 | 43 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Champaign County | 52 | 52 | 32 | 82 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Fairfield County | 52 | 56 | 36 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Hardin County | 52 | 57 | 34 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Mercer County | 52 | 56 | 50 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Preble County | 52 | 53 | 39 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Auglaize County | 51 | 54 | 37 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Darke County | 51 | 56 | 33 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Licking County | 51 | 54 | 35 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Crawford County | 50 | 53 | 49 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Pike County | 50 | 52 | 36 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Scioto County | 50 | 56 | 31 | 66 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Clinton County | 49 | 56 | 41 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Morrow County | 49 | 54 | 43 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Hamilton County | 48 | 57 | 36 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Lawrence County | 48 | 54 | 41 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Meigs County | 47 | 34 | 52 | 66 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Hocking County | 46 | 52 | 37 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Clark County | 44 | 52 | 30 | 46 | Wisconsinan till plain |
| Lake County | 43 | 37 | 50 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Medina County | 43 | 35 | 52 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Mahoning County | 41 | 34 | 48 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Summit County | 41 | 35 | 47 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Holmes County | 40 | 35 | 43 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Tuscarawas County | 40 | 36 | 40 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Morgan County | 39 | 38 | 36 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Muskingum County | 39 | 38 | 34 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Monroe County | 38 | 37 | 34 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Wayne County | 38 | 36 | 48 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Belmont County | 37 | 37 | 30 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Carroll County | 37 | 37 | 43 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Columbiana County | 37 | 36 | 31 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Jefferson County | 37 | 37 | 32 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Athens County | 36 | 37 | 27 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Cuyahoga County | 36 | 38 | 39 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Guernsey County | 36 | 36 | 30 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Lorain County | 36 | 36 | 30 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Ashland County | 35 | 36 | 27 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Ashtabula County | 35 | 36 | 27 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Harrison County | 35 | 35 | 27 | 46 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Noble County | 34 | 35 | 34 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Perry County | 33 | 36 | 31 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Portage County | 33 | 34 | 33 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Trumbull County | 32 | 35 | 30 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Geauga County | 31 | 35 | 25 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Stark County | 31 | 35 | 26 | 30 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Coshocton County | 29 | 35 | 29 | 16 | Appalachian Plateau |
| Washington County | 29 | 35 | 29 | 16 | Appalachian Plateau |
Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.
The physiographic regions inside Ohio
State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Ohio 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.
44 counties: Adams County, Allen County, Auglaize County, Brown County, Butler County, Champaign County, Clark County, Clermont County, Clinton County, Crawford County, Darke County, Delaware County, Fairfield County, Fayette County, Franklin County, Gallia County, Greene County, Hamilton County, Hardin County, Highland County, Hocking County, Jackson County, Knox County, Lawrence County, Licking County, Logan County, Madison County, Marion County, Mercer County, Miami County, Montgomery County, Morrow County, Pickaway County, Pike County, Preble County, Richland County, Ross County, Scioto County, Shelby County, Union County, Van Wert County, Vinton County, Warren County, Wyandot County
Appalachian Plateau
Water travels over bedrock under a thin skin of colluvium. A house cut into a hillside has an entire catchment behind its uphill wall — what decides the outcome here is a daylight drain, not a coating.
30 counties: Ashland County, Ashtabula County, Athens County, Belmont County, Carroll County, Columbiana County, Coshocton County, Cuyahoga County, Geauga County, Guernsey County, Harrison County, Holmes County, Jefferson County, Lake County, Lorain County, Mahoning County, Medina County, Meigs County, Monroe County, Morgan County, Muskingum County, Noble County, Perry County, Portage County, Stark County, Summit County, Trumbull County, Tuscarawas County, Washington County, Wayne 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.
14 counties: Defiance County, Erie County, Fulton County, Hancock County, Henry County, Huron County, Lucas County, Ottawa County, Paulding County, Putnam County, Sandusky County, Seneca County, Williams County, Wood County
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