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Garfield Heights, Ohio
Inside Garfield Heights' city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 28% 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 33% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list 14 flood losses since 2016 in the 2 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 13,000 homes, 91% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1955.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Cuyahoga County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 2 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Basement waterproofing in Garfield Heights
Basement waterproofing in Garfield Heights: a shallow water table limits basements on 28% of Garfield Heights' mapped land, and the 2 ZIP codes overlapping Garfield Heights logged 14 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
In Cuyahoga County, 47% of the 90 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 9,700 of Garfield Heights' 13,000 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Garfield Heights city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | under 0.1% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 27.5% |
| Septic fields very limited | 37.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.7% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | under 0.1% |
| Urban land, not rated | 33.0% |
| Mapped soil | 4,664 acres |
What the numbers mean here
On 28% of Garfield Heights' 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 October 13, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Garfield Heights. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44125 | 83% | 14 | $293,281 |
| 44105 | 12% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Garfield Heights
| Housing units | 13,000 |
| Median year built | 1955 |
| Built before 1980 | 91% |
| Built 2000 or later | 6% |
| Owner-occupied | 59% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $109,900 |
| Single-family detached | 74% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maple Heights | 2 mi | under 1% | 37% |
| Valley View | 3 mi | 5% | 32% |
| Cuyahoga Heights | 3 mi | 2% | 5% |
| Independence | 3 mi | 3% | 45% |
| Brooklyn Heights | 3 mi | 1% | 14% |
| Newburgh Heights | 4 mi | 1% | 13% |
| North Randall | 4 mi | 0% | 26% |
| Bedford | 4 mi | 3% | 49% |
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