HomeFoundation Soils vs SoilByCounty

Foundation Soils vs SoilByCounty

Foundation Soils · checked October 6, 2026

SoilByCounty is county soil reports built from USDA SSURGO, for farmers, gardeners and land buyers. Foundation Soils is a reference site built from public data: soil, water table, drought and flood losses for the ground under US houses. They overlap, but they answer different questions. Use SoilByCounty when you want county sand, silt, clay and pH, or a 3-county comparison. Use Foundation Soils when you want expansive clay, water table, drought and flood losses for a county, city or ZIP on one page.

Foundation Soils is a reference site that earns referral fees, so read its side of this page with that in mind. Every fact about SoilByCounty below was read from its own pages on October 6, 2026 and links to the page it came from.

Side by side

Foundation SoilsSoilByCounty
What it covers 3,144 US counties and county-equivalents, 1,227 Texas cities, 922 Ohio cities, 160 soil series pages 3,144 counties in 51 states and districts, per its home page
You search by County, Texas or Ohio city, or ZIP code (33,354 ZIP areas; each shows its county, and its city in Texas and Ohio) County or state; a compare tool sets up to 3 counties side by side
Soil measures shown Share of mapped land where USDA rates shrink-swell clay a limit for slab homes, average linear extensibility, most common soil series Sand, silt and clay breakdown, average pH, drainage class, hydrologic group, dominant soil series, and a composite "CountyScore"
Water table or basement wetness Share of mapped land where a shallow water table limits basements. A share of land, not a depth in feet Drainage class and hydrologic group; no water table or basement rating on the pages read
Drought Latest US Drought Monitor map for the county Not on the pages read
Flood losses FEMA flood losses since 2016, by county and by ZIP Not on the pages read
Price Free to read. No account, no form Free USDA soil reports, per its home page
One lot or one place Place level. USDA data for one lot can differ from its county County level
How it says it is funded Paid a flat fee per referral call once a buyer number goes live. None was live on October 6, 2026 Its About page names a data editor and a 13-site network; it does not state how the site is funded

"Not on the pages read" means the page we read did not show it, not that the site lacks it. Checked October 6, 2026. Prices and counts change; check the linked page.

When SoilByCounty is the better pick

When Foundation Soils is the better pick

A county or ZIP page here is a starting point. The soil under one lot can differ from its county, and what to do about a house is a question for a licensed engineer.

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