California / Fresno County
Score 24 · moderate · #15 of 48 in CA
Crawl space moisture in Fresno County, CA
Fresno County scores moderate: no single wet-soil signal dominates its mapped acres. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 28% of acres — it averages 4.3 ft below grade.
- 1Water table 4.3 ft
- 2Wet soils 19%
- 3Moisture score 24
- 4EPA radon zone 2
Reading the Fresno County soil survey
The score of 24 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 21.2 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 46.9, a shallow water table 9.6, and flooding 12.6; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is C (60% of acres): slow infiltration (clay layers).
At 4.3 ft the seasonal water table is usually below a crawl-space floor, but the 28% of acres that report one are by definition the wettest parts of the county; on those lots, a wet spring can bring water close to the footings.
Fresno County against the rest of California
Fresno County ranks 15 of 48 California counties, 6 points above the state median of 18. That places it in the middle range, nationally and for the state. Statewide, 11% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 19%, half again the state figure or more. After well drained, the next most common class is moderately well drained at 17%.
Flooding. 0% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 1.2% of acres with a flooding class are rated occasional; 22.7% of acres with a flooding class are rated rare; 36.2% of acres with a flooding class are rated very rare. That is a large flood-prone share; a crawl space in the floodplain needs flood vents under most local floodplain ordinances, which is a separate rule from R408 and can rule out a fully sealed design.
What it means for a crawl space here
In a moderate county the soil record is mixed rather than uniformly wet, so conditions vary from lot to lot. Where the lot drains, the model-code default — a vented crawl space with 1 sq ft of net vent per 150 sq ft of floor, or 1 per 1500 with a Class I vapor retarder on the ground — is a reasonable starting point; where the sections above point to a shallow water table or flood-prone soil on your lot, plan as for an elevated county. Either way, check the site first: grading that falls away from the foundation, gutters and downspouts that discharge well clear of it, and a ground cover over bare earth. A wet crawl space in a moderate county points to one of those first.
Radon. EPA radon zone 2. The zone is a county-level prediction; EPA says elevated levels occur in every zone and every home should be tested.
Near Fresno County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area CA653; drainage covers 99% of 1,384,770 mapped acres); EPA Map of Radon Zones, county table (June 2024 JSON); IRC R408.3 Unvented crawl space, as adopted in S.C. Code Regs. 8-1221 (LII). Checked 2026-10-23.