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Coal Grove, Ohio
Inside Coal Grove's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 4% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 2%, the 4th-highest of 7 cities in Lawrence County.
That water-table share is below Lawrence County's 11%. FEMA's flood data list 3 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 45638 overlapping the city. Of its 889 homes, 89% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1953.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Lawrence 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 Coal Grove
Basement waterproofing in Coal Grove: a shallow water table limits basements on 4% of Coal Grove's mapped land, and the ZIP code overlapping Coal Grove logged 3 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
About 800 of Coal Grove's 889 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Coal Grove city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.9% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 4.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 67.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.1% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 1.9% |
| Urban land, not rated | 7.8% |
| Mapped soil | 1,311 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Steinsburg | 19% | n/a |
| Shelocta | 14% | 4% |
| Watertown | 11% | n/a |
| Nolin | 9% | n/a |
| Elkinsville | 9% | n/a |
| Latham | 6% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
USDA rates 67% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 2% and a shallow water table on 4% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Coal Grove; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought in Lawrence County
0% of Lawrence 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 Coal Grove. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45638 | 100% | 3 | $34,341 |
Homes in Coal Grove
| Housing units | 889 |
| Median year built | 1953 |
| Built before 1980 | 89% |
| Built 2000 or later | 4% |
| Owner-occupied | 64% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $94,500 |
| Single-family detached | 86% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ironton | 4 mi | 2% | 3% |
| South Point | 6 mi | 2% | 14% |
| Hanging Rock | 7 mi | 1% | 7% |
| Chesapeake | 11 mi | 28% | 5% |
| Proctorville | 14 mi | 0% | 31% |
| Athalia | 18 mi | 26% | 8% |
| Crown City | 20 mi | 19% | 21% |
| South Webster | 23 mi | 6% | 67% |
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