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Ripley, Ohio
Inside Ripley's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 3% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 16%, the 2nd-highest of 9 cities in Brown County.
That water-table share is below Brown County's 68%. FEMA's flood data list 4 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 45167 overlapping the city. Of its 898 homes, 73% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1956.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Brown 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 Ripley
Basement waterproofing in Ripley: a shallow water table limits basements on 3% of Ripley's mapped land, and the ZIP code overlapping Ripley logged 4 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
About 600 of Ripley's 898 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Ripley city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 16.3% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 2.9% |
| Septic fields very limited | 40.5% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 16.9% |
| Mapped soil | 1,467 acres |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.5% by land area here, and 17% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 16% of the mapped land.
Drought in Brown County
0% of Brown 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 Ripley. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45167 | 100% | 4 | $99,855 |
Homes in Ripley
| Housing units | 898 |
| Median year built | 1956 |
| Built before 1980 | 73% |
| Built 2000 or later | 8% |
| Owner-occupied | 59% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $112,200 |
| Single-family detached | 65% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 5 mi | 3% | 12% |
| Higginsport | 8 mi | 27% | 0% |
| Russellville | 10 mi | 10% | 86% |
| Georgetown | 10 mi | 8% | 87% |
| Manchester | 13 mi | under 1% | 37% |
| Hamersville | 15 mi | 3% | 100% |
| West Union | 16 mi | 41% | 41% |
| Felicity | 16 mi | under 1% | 68% |
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