Indiana / Elkhart County
Score 38 · moderate · #59 of 92 in IN
Crawl space moisture in Elkhart County, IN
51% of Elkhart County's mapped soil is somewhat poorly to very poorly drained, which means ground that stays wet near the surface for significant periods. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 59% of acres — it averages 1 ft below grade, shallow enough to reach a typical crawl-space footing.
- 1Water table 1 ft
- 2Wet soils 51%
- 3Moisture score 38
- 4EPA radon zone 1
Reading the Elkhart County soil survey
The score of 38 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 43.3 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 30.7, a shallow water table 49.4, and flooding 2.6; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is A (34% of acres): high infiltration, low runoff (sands, gravels).
A water table under two feet is the single most important number here. A crawl-space floor is usually 18 to 36 inches below the joists and often below outside grade, so in a wet season groundwater can stand at or above the crawl-space floor on the soils that report a water table — about 59% of Elkhart County's acres. Venting cannot fix that; it needs drainage — a perimeter drain to daylight or a sump — before any liner goes down.
Elkhart County against the rest of Indiana
Elkhart County ranks 59 of 92 Indiana counties, 6 points below the state median of 44. That places it in the middle range, nationally and for the state. Statewide, 47% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 51%. After somewhat poorly drained, the next most common class is well drained at 19%.
Flooding. 2.3% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 0.5% of acres with a flooding class are rated occasional. Flood-prone soils are a minority here, concentrated along streams; the score mostly reflects what happens between floods.
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. Elkhart County is in EPA radon zone 1, the highest predicted potential. A sealed crawl space and a radon system share most of their parts — the liner, the sealed seams, a fan — so if you are encapsulating, test for radon first and design both together. EPA itself says the zone map is not a reason to skip testing in zones 2 and 3.
Near Elkhart County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area IN039; drainage covers 91% of 299,635 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.