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Fairfield, Ohio
Inside Fairfield's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 16% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 5%, the 5th-highest of 10 cities in Butler County.
That water-table share is below Butler County's 30%. USDA doesn't rate the 28% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list 7 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 45014 overlapping the city. Of its 19,548 homes, 56% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1978.
Data as of September 22, 2026 · sources · in Butler 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
Soil under Fairfield city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 5.1% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 16.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 61.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.0% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 2.4% |
| Urban land, not rated | 27.5% |
| Mapped soil | 13,390 acres |
What the numbers mean here
On 16% of Fairfield's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 61% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Butler County
0% of Butler 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 Fairfield. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45014 | 93% | 7 | $50,324 |
Homes in Fairfield
| Housing units | 19,548 |
| Median year built | 1978 |
| Built before 1980 | 56% |
| Built 2000 or later | 15% |
| Owner-occupied | 63% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $234,500 |
| Single-family detached | 56% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Park | 3 mi | 3% | 10% |
| Hamilton | 5 mi | 8% | 13% |
| Springdale | 5 mi | under 1% | 1% |
| Greenhills | 5 mi | 11% | 19% |
| Glendale | 6 mi | under 1% | 4% |
| Woodlawn | 6 mi | under 1% | 5% |
| Mount Healthy | 7 mi | 1% | 7% |
| New Miami | 7 mi | 2% | 3% |
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