Crawl Space Map

Maryland / Caroline County

Score 36 · moderate · #7 of 23 in MD

Crawl space moisture in Caroline County, MD

Caroline County scores moderate: no single wet-soil signal dominates its mapped acres. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 93% of acres — it averages 2.3 ft below grade.

Size venting or encapsulation

1234
  1. 1Water table 2.3 ft
  2. 2Wet soils 31%
  3. 3Moisture score 36
  4. 4EPA radon zone 3
Excessively1%Somewhat excessively7%Well45%Moderately well16%Somewhat poorly1%Poorly23%Very poorly7%
Share of mapped soil acres in Caroline County, MD by NRCS drainage class (dominant condition), bars to scale; wetter classes highlighted. Covers 98% of mapped acres.
Dominant drainage
Well drained
45% of acres
Group D soils
35%
slow infiltration
Flood-prone acres
5%
any flooding frequency
Ponding
0%
acres where water ponds

Reading the Caroline County soil survey

The score of 36 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 36 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 24.8, a shallow water table 60.8, and flooding 5.2; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is B (27% of acres): moderate infiltration.

27%A27%B11%C1%D4%A/D15%B/D15%C/D
Hydrologic soil groups in Caroline County by share of acres, columns to scale. Group D and dual groups (x/D) shed water slowly and hold it near the surface.

At 2.3 ft the seasonal water table is usually below a crawl-space floor, but the 93% 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.

Caroline County against the rest of Maryland

Caroline County ranks 7 of 23 Maryland counties, 8 points above the state median of 28. That places it in the middle range, nationally and for the state. Statewide, 25% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 31%. After well drained, the next most common class is poorly drained at 23%.

Flooding. 3.9% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent. 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. EPA radon zone 3. The zone is a county-level prediction; EPA says elevated levels occur in every zone and every home should be tested.

Near Caroline County by score

Charles County 36Queen Anne's County 39Calvert County 32Prince George's County 32

All 23 Maryland counties

Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area MD011; drainage covers 98% of 207,600 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.