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Mentor, Ohio
Inside Mentor's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 66% of mapped land, higher than 50% of Ohio cities. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 0%.
That water-table share is below Lake County's 73%. FEMA's flood data list 2 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 44060 overlapping the city. Of its 21,142 homes, 62% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1974.
Data as of September 22, 2026 · sources · in Lake 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
Soil under Mentor city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 65.7% |
| Septic fields very limited | 84.9% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.8% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.0% |
| Mapped soil | 17,902 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Conneaut | 33% | 99% |
| Tyner | 16% | n/a |
| Painesville | 10% | n/a |
| Red Hook | 10% | n/a |
| Platea | 4% | n/a |
| Carlisle | 4% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
On 66% of Mentor's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 85% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Lake County
0% of Lake County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the September 22, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Mentor. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 44060 | over 99% | 2 | $131,798 |
Homes in Mentor
| Housing units | 21,142 |
| Median year built | 1974 |
| Built before 1980 | 62% |
| Built 2000 or later | 10% |
| Owner-occupied | 85% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $247,700 |
| Single-family detached | 76% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mentor-on-the-Lake | 2 mi | 0% | 74% |
| Kirtland Hills | 4 mi | 0% | 62% |
| Grand River | 5 mi | 0% | 66% |
| Painesville | 5 mi | 0% | 57% |
| Willoughby | 5 mi | 0% | 67% |
| Fairport Harbor | 5 mi | 0% | 59% |
| Eastlake | 5 mi | 0% | 77% |
| Timberlake | 6 mi | 0% | 94% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (September 22, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status