North Carolina / Pasquotank County

Score 70 · high · #7 of 100 in NC

Crawl space moisture in Pasquotank County, NC

95% of Pasquotank 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 — 76% of acres — it averages 0.4 ft below grade, shallow enough to reach a typical crawl-space footing.

Size venting or encapsulation

1234
  1. 1Water table 0.4 ft
  2. 2Wet soils 95%
  3. 3Moisture score 70
  4. 4EPA radon zone 3
Well2%Moderately well4%Somewhat poorly10%Poorly44%Very poorly41%
Share of mapped soil acres in Pasquotank County, NC by NRCS drainage class (dominant condition), bars to scale; wetter classes highlighted. Covers 77% of mapped acres.
Dominant drainage
Poorly drained
44% of acres
Group D soils
95%
slow infiltration
Flood-prone acres
7%
any flooding frequency
Ponding
0%
acres where water ponds

Reading the Pasquotank County soil survey

The score of 70 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 92.6 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 58.3, a shallow water table 72, and flooding 7.1; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is C/D (62% of acres): D when undrained, C when drained.

0%A2%B3%C1%D10%A/D22%B/D62%C/D
Hydrologic soil groups in Pasquotank County by share of acres, columns to scale. Group D and dual groups (x/D) shed water slowly and hold it near the surface.

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 Pasquotank County. Venting cannot fix that; it needs drainage — a perimeter drain to daylight or a sump — before any liner goes down.

Pasquotank County against the rest of North Carolina

Pasquotank County ranks 7 of 100 North Carolina counties, 53 points above the state median of 17. That puts it in the wettest quarter of the state. Statewide, 30% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 95%, half again the state figure or more. After poorly drained, the next most common class is very poorly drained at 41%.

Flooding. 7.1% 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 high county, the model-code default of a vented crawl space over bare earth works against the soil: outside air brings humidity in all summer, and the ground underneath keeps supplying moisture from below. The R408 alternative — an unvented crawl space with a sealed vapor retarder lapped 6 inches and turned 6 inches up the stem wall, plus conditioned or exhaust air at 1 cfm per 50 sq ft or a dehumidifier — is built for exactly this. If the water table is shallow, drainage comes 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 Pasquotank County by score

All 100 North Carolina counties

Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area NC139; drainage covers 77% of 185,203 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.