Minnesota / Benton County
Score 50 · elevated · #36 of 87 in MN
Crawl space moisture in Benton County, MN
60% of Benton 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 — 81% of acres — it averages 1 ft below grade, shallow enough to reach a typical crawl-space footing.
- 1Water table 1 ft
- 2Wet soils 60%
- 3Moisture score 50
- 4EPA radon zone 2
Reading the Benton County soil survey
The score of 50 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 55.3 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 42.5, a shallow water table 68.9, and flooding 4.1; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is B/D (45% of acres): D when undrained, B when drained.
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 across much of Benton County. Venting cannot fix that; it needs drainage — a perimeter drain to daylight or a sump — before any liner goes down.
Benton County against the rest of Minnesota
Benton County ranks 36 of 87 Minnesota counties, 3 points above the state median of 47. Wetter counties exist in Minnesota, but the soil here still sits well above the national middle. Statewide, 55% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 60%. After somewhat poorly drained, the next most common class is moderately well drained at 21%.
Flooding. 4% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 0.2% of acres with a flooding class are rated occasional; 0.3% of acres with a flooding class are rated rare. Flood-prone soils are a minority here, concentrated along streams; the score mostly reflects what happens between floods. Ponding — water standing at the surface with nowhere to go — affects 15.3% of acres.
What it means for a crawl space here
In an elevated county the soil supplies more moisture than average, but a vented crawl space can work if the ground is covered: the code lets vent area drop from 1 sq ft per 150 to 1 per 1500 with a Class I vapor retarder on the ground, which is an admission of how much moisture comes from below. Grading, gutters and a ground cover usually decide whether a crawl space here stays dry before any decision about sealing it.
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 Benton County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area MN009; drainage covers 99% of 264,500 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.