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Forest Park, Ohio
Inside Forest Park's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 10% of mapped land, the 5th-highest of 36 cities in Hamilton County. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 3%.
That water-table share is close to Hamilton County's 9%. USDA doesn't rate the 49% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 45240 overlapping the city. Of its 7,641 homes, 76% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1969.
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 Forest Park
Basement waterproofing in Forest Park: a shallow water table limits basements on 10% of Forest Park's mapped land.
In Hamilton County, 52% of the 251 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 5,100 of Forest Park's 7,641 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Forest Park city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 3.4% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 9.7% |
| Septic fields very limited | 30.7% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 3.3% |
| Urban land, not rated | 49.2% |
| Mapped soil | 4,124 acres |
What the numbers mean here
With shrink-swell clay on 3% and a shallow water table on 10% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Forest Park; 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 Forest Park. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45240 | 99% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Forest Park
| Housing units | 7,641 |
| Median year built | 1969 |
| Built before 1980 | 76% |
| Built 2000 or later | 4% |
| Owner-occupied | 55% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $190,400 |
| Single-family detached | 66% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greenhills | 1 mi | 11% | 19% |
| Springdale | 3 mi | under 1% | 1% |
| Fairfield | 3 mi | 5% | 16% |
| Woodlawn | 4 mi | under 1% | 5% |
| Glendale | 4 mi | under 1% | 4% |
| Mount Healthy | 4 mi | 1% | 7% |
| Wyoming | 5 mi | 12% | 5% |
| Lincoln Heights | 5 mi | 0% | 1% |
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