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Ironton, Ohio
Inside Ironton's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 3% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 2%, the 5th-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 5,243 homes, 87% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1951.
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 Ironton
Basement waterproofing in Ironton: a shallow water table limits basements on 3% of Ironton's mapped land, and the ZIP code overlapping Ironton logged 3 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
About 4,200 of Ironton's 5,243 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Ironton city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.5% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 2.8% |
| Septic fields very limited | 28.9% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.1% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 1.4% |
| Urban land, not rated | 24.2% |
| Mapped soil | 3,043 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Elkinsville | 26% | n/a |
| Steinsburg | 10% | n/a |
| Shelocta | 9% | 4% |
| Nolin | 4% | n/a |
| Latham | 4% | n/a |
| Lily | 3% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
With shrink-swell clay on 2% and a shallow water table on 3% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Ironton; 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 Ironton. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45638 | 100% | 3 | $34,341 |
Homes in Ironton
| Housing units | 5,243 |
| Median year built | 1951 |
| Built before 1980 | 87% |
| Built 2000 or later | 4% |
| Owner-occupied | 60% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $106,700 |
| Single-family detached | 80% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanging Rock | 3 mi | 1% | 7% |
| Coal Grove | 4 mi | 2% | 4% |
| South Point | 9 mi | 2% | 14% |
| Chesapeake | 14 mi | 28% | 5% |
| Proctorville | 17 mi | 0% | 31% |
| South Webster | 20 mi | 6% | 67% |
| Athalia | 20 mi | 26% | 8% |
| New Boston | 21 mi | 1% | 7% |
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