HomeSoil seriesMadison
Madison soil series
Madison soils cover 2,449,858 mapped acres, mostly in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina. USDA rates shrink-swell a limit for houses without basements on 0% of that land, and a shallow water table a limit for basements on 0%.
It is the leading soil series by area in 14 of the counties and cities on this site, including Madison County, GA; Carroll County, GA; Hart County, GA.
SSURGO survey versions to August 5, 2026 · series description revised 2025-09
of its land: shrink-swell limits houses without basements
of its land: a shallow water table limits basements
median highest linear extensibility (6% and up is high)
median highest clay content in the top 150 cm
USDA's description
| Depth class | Very Deep |
| Landscape | Piedmont uplands |
| Landform | Interstream divides, ridges, and side slopes |
| Parent material | Residuum weathered from felsic or intermediate, high-grade metamorphic or igneous rocks high in content of mica |
| Slope | 2 to 60 percent |
Source: USDA NRCS series description (OSD) for Madison, revised 2025-09. Read it.
Engineering properties
| Mapped area (SSURGO) | 2,449,858 acres |
| Shrink-swell limits houses without basements | 0.0% |
| Shallow water table limits basements | 0.0% |
| Very limited for septic absorption fields | 27.5% |
| Most common drainage class | Well drained |
| Most common hydrologic soil group | B |
| Taxonomic class | Fine, kaolinitic, thermic Typic Kanhapludults |
| Type location | Catawba County, North Carolina |
Where Madison is mapped
| State | Mapped acres |
|---|---|
| Georgia | 1,441,537 |
| Alabama | 422,829 |
| South Carolina | 353,867 |
| North Carolina | 145,869 |
| Virginia | 85,756 |
Places where Madison leads
Counties and cities where Madison covers more mapped land than any other series.
| Place | Share of mapped land |
|---|---|
| Madison County, GA | 68% |
| Carroll County, GA | 50% |
| Hart County, GA | 44% |
| Douglas County, GA | 43% |
| Clay County, AL | 31% |
| Randolph County, AL | 31% |
| Heard County, GA | 30% |
| Union County, SC | 28% |
| Monroe County, GA | 27% |
| Cobb County, GA | 26% |
| Meriwether County, GA | 22% |
| Stephens County, GA | 20% |
| Goochland County, VA | 16% |
| Coosa County, AL | 15% |
Other places where Madison is a main soil
Counties and cities where Madison is among the six soil series covering the most mapped land, but not the first. Share of the place's mapped land.
Counties
- Coweta County, GA 33%
- Habersham County, GA 30%
- Hall County, GA 25%
- Elbert County, GA 25%
- Franklin County, GA 24%
- Clarke County, GA 18%
- Banks County, GA 16%
- Anderson County, SC 16%
- Cleburne County, AL 15%
- Gwinnett County, GA 15%
- Chester County, SC 14%
- Barrow County, GA 13%
- Oconee County, GA 13%
- Oglethorpe County, GA 12%
- Haralson County, GA 12%
- Tallapoosa County, AL 12%
- Butts County, GA 12%
- Cherokee County, SC 12%
- Polk County, NC 11%
- Cherokee County, GA 11%
- Troup County, GA 11%
- Pickens County, GA 11%
- Rutherford County, NC 9%
- Gaston County, NC 9%
- Prince Edward County, VA 8%
- Nottoway County, VA 8%
- Henry County, GA 8%
- Rockdale County, GA 8%
- Jackson County, GA 8%
- Lamar County, GA 7%
- Chambers County, AL 7%
- Newton County, GA 7%
- Upson County, GA 7%
- Forsyth County, GA 6%
- DeKalb County, GA 6%
- Laurens County, SC 6%
- Chilton County, AL 6%
- Kershaw County, SC 6%
- Cleveland County, NC 5%
- Jasper County, GA 5%
- Lincoln County, NC 5%
- Hancock County, GA 5%
- Gilmer County, GA 4%
- Pike County, GA 4%
Sources
Shares and properties: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access, weighted by each component's share of its map units. Description: the USDA NRCS series description. How we count.