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New Jersey soil by county

Across New Jersey's mapped land, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on under 1% and a shallow water table limits basements on 46%.

Highest clay shares: Gloucester County (2%), Salem County (2%), Burlington County (1%), Monmouth County (under 1%), Camden County (under 1%). Highest water-table shares: Cape May County (67%), Burlington County (61%), Atlantic County (60%), Ocean County (57%), Salem County (54%).

Data as of September 22, 2026 · 21 counties

Atlantic County: 0%Bergen County: 0%Burlington County: 1%Camden County: 0%Cape May County: 0%Cumberland County: 0%Essex County: 0%Gloucester County: 2%Hudson County: 0%Hunterdon County: 0%Mercer County: 0%Middlesex County: 0%Monmouth County: 0%Morris County: 0%Ocean County: 0%Passaic County: 0%Salem County: 2%Somerset County: 0%Sussex County: 0%Union County: 0%Warren County: 0%
Expansive clay: share of mapped land where shrink-swell clay limits houses without basementsunder 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+
Atlantic County: 60%Bergen County: 26%Burlington County: 61%Camden County: 44%Cape May County: 67%Cumberland County: 50%Essex County: 22%Gloucester County: 34%Hudson County: 32%Hunterdon County: 31%Mercer County: 44%Middlesex County: 53%Monmouth County: 40%Morris County: 53%Ocean County: 57%Passaic County: 51%Salem County: 54%Somerset County: 44%Sussex County: 16%Union County: 42%Warren County: 22%
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 New Jersey

Select a column heading to sort.
Atlantic County 0% 60% 56% 531 1978
Bergen County 0% 26% 0% 2,363 1960
Burlington County 1% 61% 4% 380 1977
Camden County under 1% 44% 0% 184 1967
Cape May County 0% 67% 85% 1,557 1981
Cumberland County 0% 50% 1% 38 1969
Essex County 0% 22% 0% 1,189 1958
Gloucester County 2% 34% 0% 77 1980
Hudson County 0% 32% 0% 848 1966
Hunterdon County 0% 31% 0% 309 1979
Mercer County 0% 44% 0% 225 1969
Middlesex County 0% 53% 0% 1,021 1974
Monmouth County under 1% 40% 0% 557 1975
Morris County 0% 53% 0% 445 1971
Ocean County under 1% 57% 6% 639 1981
Passaic County 0% 51% 0% 1,010 1956
Salem County 2% 54% 0% 70 1962
Somerset County 0% 44% 0% 1,118 1982
Sussex County 0% 16% 0% 12 1973
Union County 0% 42% 0% 1,879 1956
Warren County 0% 22% 0% 68 1972

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.