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Delaware soil by county

Across Delaware's mapped land, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on under 1% and a shallow water table limits basements on 59%.

Highest clay shares: New Castle County (2%), Kent County (0%), Sussex County (0%). Highest water-table shares: Kent County (77%), Sussex County (61%), New Castle County (34%).

Data as of September 22, 2026 · 3 counties

Kent County: 0%New Castle County: 2%Sussex County: 0%
Expansive clay: share of mapped land where shrink-swell clay limits houses without basementsunder 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+
Kent County: 77%New Castle County: 34%Sussex County: 61%
High water table: share of mapped land where a shallow water table limits basementsunder 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+

Every county in Delaware

Select a column heading to sort.
Kent County 0% 77% 88% 54 1993
New Castle County 2% 34% 0% 229 1975
Sussex County 0% 61% 49% 321 1999

How these shares are counted

Shares are of mapped land in USDA's soil survey (SSURGO), weighted by each soil's share of every map unit. Drought is the US Drought Monitor's D1-or-worse share on the September 22, 2026 map. Flood losses are FEMA NFIP records since 2016. Sources and methods.