Virginia / Northampton County
Score 34 · moderate · #14 of 95 in VA
Crawl space moisture in Northampton County, VA
Northampton County scores moderate: no single wet-soil signal dominates its mapped acres. Where a seasonal water table is reported — 59% of acres — it averages 2.6 ft below grade.
- 1Water table 2.6 ft
- 2Wet soils 39%
- 3Moisture score 34
- 4EPA radon zone 3
Reading the Northampton County soil survey
The score of 34 combines four parts, each from the USDA survey: wet drainage classes contribute 43.5 points of 100 on their own scale, group D soils 23.9, a shallow water table 35.9, and flooding 19.4; the weights are on the methodology page. The dominant hydrologic group is A (49% of acres): high infiltration, low runoff (sands, gravels).
At 2.6 ft the seasonal water table is usually below a crawl-space floor, but the 59% 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.
Northampton County against the rest of Virginia
Northampton County ranks 14 of 95 Virginia counties, 22 points above the state median of 12. That puts it in the wettest quarter of the state. Statewide, 11% of mapped soil is in the wet drainage classes; here it is 39%, half again the state figure or more. After well drained, the next most common class is very poorly drained at 26%.
Flooding. 3.3% of acres with a flooding class are rated frequent; 0.8% of acres with a flooding class are rated occasional; 0.2% of acres with a flooding class are rated rare. That is a large flood-prone share; a crawl space in the floodplain needs flood vents under most local floodplain ordinances, which is a separate rule from R408 and can rule out a fully sealed design.
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 Northampton County by score
Sources: USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access (muaggatt: drclassdcd, hydgrpdcd, flodfreqdcd, pondfreqprs, wtdepannmin), acreage-weighted (survey area VA131; drainage covers 61% of 226,087 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.