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Cleves, Ohio
Inside Cleves' city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 2% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 6%.
That water-table share is below Hamilton County's 9%. USDA doesn't rate the 29% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list 18 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 45002 overlapping the city. Of its 1,144 homes, 57% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1972.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Hamilton County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
of homes built before 1980
Basement waterproofing in Cleves
Basement waterproofing in Cleves: a shallow water table limits basements on 2% of Cleves' mapped land, and the ZIP code overlapping Cleves logged 18 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
In Hamilton County, 52% of the 251 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 1,000 of Cleves' 1,144 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Cleves city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 5.5% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 2.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 50.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.2% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 5.5% |
| Urban land, not rated | 28.9% |
| Mapped soil | 1,032 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Eden | 16% | 0% |
| Parke | 8% | n/a |
| Jules | 7% | n/a |
| Pate | 4% | n/a |
| Ava | 1% | n/a |
| Genesee | 1% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
USDA rates 51% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 6% and a shallow water table on 2% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Cleves; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought in Hamilton County
0% of Hamilton County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Cleves. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45002 | 100% | 18 | $97,350 |
Homes in Cleves
| Housing units | 1,144 |
| Median year built | 1972 |
| Built before 1980 | 57% |
| Built 2000 or later | 20% |
| Owner-occupied | 74% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $197,300 |
| Single-family detached | 85% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Bend | 1 mi | 7% | 2% |
| Addyston | 2 mi | 14% | 1% |
| Harrison | 7 mi | 4% | 9% |
| Cheviot | 7 mi | 3% | 7% |
| North College Hill | 11 mi | under 1% | 9% |
| Mount Healthy | 11 mi | 1% | 7% |
| Cincinnati | 13 mi | 8% | 4% |
| St. Bernard | 13 mi | 2% | 2% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status