Akron, Ohio
Inside Akron's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 34% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 1%.
That water-table share is below Summit County's 63%. USDA doesn't rate the 26% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list 19 flood losses since 2016 in the 14 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 93,741 homes, 83% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1954.
Data as of November 3, 2026 · sources · in Summit County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 14 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Basement waterproofing in Akron
Basement waterproofing in Akron: a shallow water table limits basements on 34% of Akron's mapped land, and the 14 ZIP codes overlapping Akron logged 19 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
In Summit County, 75% of the 75 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 63,300 of Akron's 93,741 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Akron city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.5% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 34.2% |
| Septic fields very limited | 61.9% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.0% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.5% |
| Urban land, not rated | 26.0% |
| Mapped soil | 39,857 acres |
What the numbers mean here
On 34% of Akron's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 62% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Akron covers 61.9 square miles of land and counts 93,741 housing units, about 1,514 per square mile.
51% of Akron's occupied homes are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $122,000; 6% of all homes in the city date from 2000 or later.
The largest soil series under Akron is Chili, on 20% of the mapped land, followed by Canfield at 13%.
Clay swell, measured as linear extensibility, averages 2.0% across Akron's 39,857 mapped acres.
Drought in Summit County
0% of Summit County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the November 3, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Akron. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44313 | 18% | 5 | $950,585 |
| 44306 | 11% | 0 | $0 |
| 44305 | 11% | 0 | $0 |
| 44320 | 10% | 6 | $85,146 |
| 44310 | 10% | 0 | $0 |
| 44314 | 7% | 6 | $26,574 |
| 44301 | 6% | 0 | $0 |
| 44303 | 3% | 2 | $3,403 |
| 44307 | 3% | 0 | $0 |
| 44311 | 3% | 0 | $0 |
| 44304 | 2% | 0 | $0 |
| 44302 | 2% | 0 | $0 |
| 44308 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
| 44325 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Akron
| Housing units | 93,741 |
| Median year built | 1954 |
| Built before 1980 | 83% |
| Built 2000 or later | 6% |
| Owner-occupied | 51% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $122,000 |
| Single-family detached | 68% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tallmadge | 5 mi | 1% | 73% |
| Munroe Falls | 6 mi | 0% | 49% |
| Mogadore | 6 mi | 0% | 29% |
| Silver Lake | 6 mi | 0% | 43% |
| Fairlawn | 6 mi | 1% | 59% |
| Lakemore | 6 mi | 1% | 18% |
| Barberton | 7 mi | 0% | 26% |
| Cuyahoga Falls | 7 mi | 4% | 68% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (November 3, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status