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Portage, Ohio
Inside Portage's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 73% of mapped land, higher than 58% of Ohio cities. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 41%.
That water-table share is below Wood County's 91%. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 43451 overlapping the city. Of its 236 homes, 66% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1953.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Wood 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 Portage
Basement waterproofing in Portage: a shallow water table limits basements on 73% of Portage's mapped land, more than in 58% of Ohio cities.
About 200 of Portage's 236 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Portage city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 40.6% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 73.4% |
| Septic fields very limited | 80.7% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.0% |
| Mapped soil | 1,033 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Hoytville | 41% | 99% |
| Nappanee | 10% | n/a |
| St. Clair | 4% | n/a |
| Spinks | 4% | n/a |
| Millsdale | 3% | n/a |
| Sloan | 2% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.3% by land area here, and 0% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 41% of the mapped land.
On 73% of Portage's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 81% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Wood County
0% of Wood 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 Portage. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43451 | 100% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Portage
| Housing units | 236 |
| Median year built | 1953 |
| Built before 1980 | 66% |
| Built 2000 or later | 5% |
| Owner-occupied | 47% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $131,700 |
| Single-family detached | 93% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bowling Green | 4 mi | 39% | 76% |
| Jerry City | 5 mi | 43% | 90% |
| Cygnet | 6 mi | 73% | 92% |
| Weston | 8 mi | 36% | 92% |
| Tontogany | 8 mi | 70% | 98% |
| Wayne | 9 mi | 0% | 74% |
| Milton Center | 10 mi | 85% | 99% |
| West Millgrove | 10 mi | 3% | 76% |
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