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Lorain County, Ohio

A shallow water table limits basements on 91% of Lorain County's mapped land, a higher share than 96% of US counties. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 3%.

None of the county is in drought on the November 3, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 81 flood losses here since 2016, 65% of them in buildings with basements. 61% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1973.

Data as of November 3, 2026 · sources

expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes

91%

high water table: limits basements

in drought, November 3, 2026

61%

of homes built before 1980

Soil under Lorain County

Expansive clay (limits slab homes)	2.9%
High water table (limits basements)	90.6%
Septic fields very limited	93.2%
Clay swell (LEP, by area)	3.7%
High-swell land (LEP 6%+)	1.7%
Urban land, not rated	1.5%
Mapped soil	316,756 acres

Soil series	Share here	Series nationally: high water table
Mahoning	37%	100%
Trumbull	8%	n/a
Miner	8%	n/a
Ellsworth	7%	99%
Fitchville	4%	96%
Tiro	3%	n/a

Lorain 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 OH093 (2025-09-02)

What the numbers mean here

On 91% of Lorain 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: 34.10 in, 4.92 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 39.02 in.

USDA rates 93% 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	74.1%
D1 moderate drought or worse	0%
D2 severe or worse	0%
D3 extreme or worse	0%
D4 exceptional	0%

Flood losses since 2016

81 flood losses since 2016, $2.3 million paid. The worst year was 2023, with 32. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 65% basements, 20% slabs, 8% crawl spaces, 7% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 6 in.

Year	Flood losses
2016	0
2017	2
2018	0
2019	9
2020	20
2021	8
2022	1
2023	32
2024	3
2025	2
2026 to date	4

Rain

Average year, 1991-2020	39.02 in
12 months to August 2026	34.10 in (-4.92)
2025	33.46 in (-5.56)
Wettest year since 1895	2011: 56.54 in
Driest year since 1895	1963: 17.81 in
Days with 1 inch or more, normal at OBERLIN (11 mi away)	7.1

Homes

Housing units	136,548
Median year built	1973
Built before 1980	61%
Built 2000 or later	22%
Owner-occupied	74%
Median value, owner-occupied	$223,200
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 Lorain County

City	Expansive clay	High water table	Homes
Amherst	5%	74%	5,001
Avon	11%	85%	9,868
Avon Lake	6%	94%	11,289
Elyria	8%	72%	25,182
Grafton	2%	97%	899
Kipton	0%	98%	111
LaGrange	0%	over 99%	1,138
Lorain	5%	71%	30,624
North Ridgeville	5%	87%	14,545
Oberlin	under 1%	99%	2,728
Rochester	1%	97%	73
Sheffield	8%	89%	1,776
Sheffield Lake	1%	77%	4,699
South Amherst	7%	82%	799
Vermilion	4%	85%	5,326
Wellington	1%	90%	2,052

Nearby counties

Place	Distance	Expansive clay	High water table
Erie County, OH	21 mi	6%	69%
Medina County, OH	27 mi	1%	91%
Huron County, OH	30 mi	2%	90%
Cuyahoga County, OH	31 mi	1%	51%
Summit County, OH	40 mi	2%	63%
Ashland County, OH	41 mi	1%	63%
Ottawa County, OH	44 mi	50%	75%
Wayne County, OH	45 mi	2%	66%

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