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Licking County, Ohio

A shallow water table limits basements on 69% of Licking County's mapped land, a higher share than 81% of US counties. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 1%.

None of the county is in drought on the November 3, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 99 flood losses here since 2016, 46% of them in buildings with basements. 50% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1980.

Data as of November 3, 2026 · sources

expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes

69%

high water table: limits basements

in drought, November 3, 2026

50%

of homes built before 1980

Soil under Licking County

Expansive clay (limits slab homes)	0.9%
High water table (limits basements)	68.7%
Septic fields very limited	93.8%
Clay swell (LEP, by area)	3.3%
High-swell land (LEP 6%+)	0.3%
Urban land, not rated	1.0%
Mapped soil	439,738 acres

Soil series	Share here	Series nationally: high water table
Bennington	14%	99%
Centerburg	14%	over 99%
Brownsville	11%	n/a
Amanda	7%	40%
Pewamo	7%	99%
Coshocton	6%	98%

Licking County (heavy outline) and nearby counties, shaded by high water table share.under 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+

How we count · survey areas OH089 (2025-09-02)

What the numbers mean here

On 69% of Licking County's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.

Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 48.56 in, 6.71 in above the 1991-2020 average year of 41.85 in.

USDA rates 94% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.

Drought

0% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the November 3, 2026 map. No part of the county was in drought in the last 52 weeks.

November 11, 2025Share of area in drought, weeklyNovember 3, 2026

Category, November 3, 2026	Share of county
D0 abnormally dry or worse	0%
D1 moderate drought or worse	0%
D2 severe or worse	0%
D3 extreme or worse	0%
D4 exceptional	0%

Flood losses since 2016

99 flood losses since 2016, $3.0 million paid. The worst year was 2020, with 63. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 46% basements, 25% slabs, 19% crawl spaces, 11% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 17 in.

Year	Flood losses
2016	0
2017	16
2018	0
2019	5
2020	63
2021	0
2022	0
2023	0
2024	3
2025	0
2026 to date	12

Rain

Average year, 1991-2020	41.85 in
12 months to August 2026	48.56 in (+6.71)
2025	40.61 in (-1.24)
Wettest year since 1895	2018: 55.90 in
Driest year since 1895	1930: 25.27 in
Days with 1 inch or more, normal at NEWARK WTR WKS (4 mi away)	9.7

Homes

Housing units	73,273
Median year built	1980
Built before 1980	50%
Built 2000 or later	25%
Owner-occupied	74%
Median value, owner-occupied	$275,200
Single-family detached	76%

What repairs cost

Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.

Work	Range	Source
Basement waterproofing, US	$3,000 to $10,000	Fixr, February 6, 2026
Sump pump installation, US	$800 to $2,000	Fixr, January 31, 2025
Crawl space encapsulation, US	$2,000 to $8,000	Fixr, August 29, 2025

Cities in Licking County

City	Expansive clay	High water table	Homes
Alexandria	0%	29%	236
Buckeye Lake	2%	85%	1,405
Granville	0%	32%	2,005
Gratiot	0%	90%	117
Hanover	0%	34%	483
Hartford (Croton)	0%	90%	153
Heath	under 1%	48%	4,498
Hebron	0%	86%	1,308
Johnstown	2%	87%	2,016
Kirkersville	0%	87%	206
Newark	under 1%	20%	21,755
Pataskala	1%	95%	7,165
St. Louisville	0%	5%	124
Utica	0%	80%	871

Nearby counties

Place	Distance	Expansive clay	High water table
Knox County, OH	22 mi	under 1%	65%
Fairfield County, OH	25 mi	5%	60%
Perry County, OH	27 mi	13%	42%
Franklin County, OH	29 mi	12%	71%
Muskingum County, OH	30 mi	17%	39%
Delaware County, OH	31 mi	23%	84%
Coshocton County, OH	32 mi	3%	46%
Morrow County, OH	34 mi	9%	87%

Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 2, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (November 3, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status