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Upper Arlington, Ohio
Inside Upper Arlington's city limits, a shallow water table limits basements on 47% of mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 2%.
That water-table share is below Franklin County's 71%. USDA doesn't rate the 30% of mapped land classed as urban land, so these shares are floors. FEMA's flood data list 5 flood losses since 2016 in the 2 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 14,936 homes, 84% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1959.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Franklin County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 2 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Basement waterproofing in Upper Arlington
Basement waterproofing in Upper Arlington: a shallow water table limits basements on 47% of Upper Arlington's mapped land, and the 2 ZIP codes overlapping Upper Arlington logged 5 FEMA flood losses since 2016.
In Franklin County, 81% of the 176 flood-loss buildings with a recorded foundation type had basements.
About 11,000 of Upper Arlington's 14,936 homes are detached houses.
Soil under Upper Arlington city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 2.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 47.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 55.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | under 0.1% |
| Urban land, not rated | 30.1% |
| Mapped soil | 6,301 acres |
What the numbers mean here
On 47% of Upper Arlington's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 56% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Franklin County
0% of Franklin 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 Upper Arlington. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43221 | 53% | 2 | $9,710 |
| 43220 | 42% | 3 | $23,002 |
Homes in Upper Arlington
| Housing units | 14,936 |
| Median year built | 1959 |
| Built before 1980 | 84% |
| Built 2000 or later | 7% |
| Owner-occupied | 79% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $595,600 |
| Single-family detached | 74% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marble Cliff | 3 mi | 0% | 20% |
| Grandview Heights | 4 mi | 1% | 22% |
| Riverlea | 4 mi | 0% | 35% |
| Valleyview | 4 mi | 0% | 24% |
| Hilliard | 5 mi | 31% | 88% |
| Columbus | 5 mi | 8% | 63% |
| Worthington | 5 mi | under 1% | 49% |
| Dublin | 7 mi | 26% | 79% |
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