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Canton, Ohio
Inside Canton's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 25% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 1%, the 5th-highest of 18 cities in Stark County.
That water-table share is below Stark County's 60%. USDA doesn't rate the 31% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list 14 flood losses since 2016 in the 9 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 33,836 homes, 88% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1947.
Data as of November 3, 2026 · sources · in Stark County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 9 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Basement waterproofing in Canton
Basement waterproofing in Canton: a shallow water table limits basements on 25% of Canton's mapped land, and the 9 ZIP codes overlapping Canton logged 14 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
In Stark County, 46% of the 35 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 23,300 of Canton's 33,836 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Canton city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.3% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 25.4% |
| Septic fields very limited | 60.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.2% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 1.3% |
| Urban land, not rated | 30.9% |
| Mapped soil | 17,112 acres |
What the numbers mean here
On 25% of Canton's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 60% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Canton covers 26.7 square miles of land and counts 33,836 housing units, about 1,266 per square mile.
49% of Canton's occupied homes are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $97,800; 6% of all homes in the city date from 2000 or later.
The largest soil series under Canton is Chili, on 25% of the mapped land, followed by Canfield at 9%.
Clay swell, measured as linear extensibility, averages 2.2% across Canton's 17,112 mapped acres.
Drought in Stark County
0% of Stark 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 Canton. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44705 | 18% | 3 | $22,327 |
| 44709 | 16% | 3 | $15,035 |
| 44706 | 14% | 1 | $17,595 |
| 44707 | 13% | 4 | $12,276 |
| 44714 | 7% | 3 | $90,173 |
| 44704 | 7% | 0 | $0 |
| 44703 | 4% | 0 | $0 |
| 44710 | 4% | 0 | $0 |
| 44702 | 2% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Canton
| Housing units | 33,836 |
| Median year built | 1947 |
| Built before 1980 | 88% |
| Built 2000 or later | 6% |
| Owner-occupied | 49% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $97,800 |
| Single-family detached | 69% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meyers Lake | 3 mi | under 1% | 8% |
| Hills and Dales | 4 mi | 0% | 14% |
| East Canton | 4 mi | 3% | 65% |
| North Canton | 5 mi | under 1% | 30% |
| Louisville | 6 mi | under 1% | 68% |
| Massillon | 8 mi | under 1% | 49% |
| Navarre | 10 mi | under 1% | 43% |
| East Sparta | 10 mi | 15% | 41% |
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