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Cleveland, Ohio
Inside Cleveland's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 17% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on under 1%.
That water-table share is below Cuyahoga County's 51%. USDA doesn't rate the 64% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list 10 flood losses since 2016 in the 19 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 201,141 homes, 85% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1941.
Data as of September 22, 2026 · sources · in Cuyahoga County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 19 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Soil under Cleveland city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.1% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 16.9% |
| Septic fields very limited | 22.1% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.1% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.1% |
| Urban land, not rated | 63.6% |
| Mapped soil | 49,943 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Elnora | 5% | n/a |
| Mahoning | 5% | 100% |
| Ellsworth | 2% | 99% |
| Mitiwanga | 2% | 95% |
| Oshtemo | 2% | 0% |
| Loudonville | 2% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
On 17% of Cleveland's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
Drought in Cuyahoga County
0% of Cuyahoga County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the September 22, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Cleveland. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44135 | 12% | 1 | $0 |
| 44109 | 9% | 1 | $38,500 |
| 44105 | 9% | 0 | $0 |
| 44111 | 8% | 0 | $0 |
| 44102 | 8% | 1 | $545,956 |
| 44104 | 6% | 0 | $0 |
| 44103 | 5% | 0 | $0 |
| 44110 | 5% | 0 | $0 |
| 44113 | 5% | 1 | $50,287 |
| 44108 | 5% | 0 | $0 |
| 44128 | 4% | 2 | $1,296 |
| 44106 | 4% | 2 | $173,393 |
| 44114 | 4% | 0 | $0 |
| 44120 | 3% | 1 | $331 |
| 44115 | 3% | 0 | $0 |
| 44127 | 2% | 0 | $0 |
| 44144 | 2% | 0 | $0 |
| 44119 | 2% | 1 | $0 |
| 44101 | under 1% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Cleveland
| Housing units | 201,141 |
| Median year built | 1941 |
| Built before 1980 | 85% |
| Built 2000 or later | 9% |
| Owner-occupied | 42% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $102,000 |
| Single-family detached | 46% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newburgh Heights | 2 mi | 1% | 13% |
| Cuyahoga Heights | 3 mi | 2% | 5% |
| Brooklyn Heights | 4 mi | 1% | 14% |
| Brooklyn | 5 mi | 0% | 43% |
| Linndale | 5 mi | 0% | 20% |
| Garfield Heights | 6 mi | under 1% | 28% |
| Lakewood | 6 mi | 0% | 17% |
| East Cleveland | 6 mi | 0% | 14% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (September 22, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status