New York / Oswego County
Score 43 · elevated · #20 of 62 in NY
Crawl space moisture in Oswego County, NY
58% of Oswego County's soil falls in hydrologic group D or a dual D group: clays and high water tables that shed water slowly. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 74% of acres — it averages 1.1 ft below grade, shallow enough to reach a typical crawl-space footing.
- 1Water table 1.1 ft
- 2Wet soils 39%
- 3Moisture score 43
- 4EPA radon zone 2
Reading the Oswego County soil survey
The score of 43 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 39.4 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 46.1, a shallow water table 61.8, and flooding 1.8; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is D (27% of acres): very slow infiltration, high runoff (clays, high water table).
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 Oswego County. Venting cannot fix that; it needs drainage — a perimeter drain to daylight or a sump — before any liner goes down.
Oswego County against the rest of New York
Oswego County ranks 20 of 62 New York counties, 4 points above the state median of 39. Wetter counties exist in New York, but the soil here still sits well above the national middle. Statewide, 28% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 39%. After well drained, the next most common class is moderately well drained at 17%.
Flooding. 1.3% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 0.8% 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 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 Oswego County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area NY075; drainage covers 93% of 651,800 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.