Which Oklahoma cities have the most expansive soil?

Reviewed by Preston · Updated 2026-11-12

In short: Measured inside each city's limits from USDA soil maps, Hugo (about 86%) and Miami (about 74%) have the largest share of land in soils rated high shrink-swell of the 75 Oklahoma cities with 5,000 or more people, and Woodward (about 0%) and Elk City (about 0%) the smallest ¹. Shallow water, shallow rock and flood-prone soil vary just as much, so the table shows all four.

How do Oklahoma cities compare?

City	People (2020)	High shrink-swell	Water table within 2 ft	Bedrock within 40 in	Flood-prone	Most common soil
Hugo	5,166 ²	86% ¹	26% ¹	12% ¹	3% ¹	Durant ¹
Miami	12,969 ²	74% ¹	84% ¹	8% ¹	12% ¹	Taloka ¹
Blackwell	6,085 ²	66% ¹	25% ¹	1% ¹	3% ¹	Tabler ¹
Holdenville	5,934 ²	66% ¹	79% ¹	31% ¹	0% ¹	Dennis ¹
Pryor Creek	9,444 ²	64% ¹	84% ¹	11% ¹	15% ¹	Taloka ¹
Durant	18,589 ²	62% ¹	41% ¹	8% ¹	9% ¹	Dennis ¹
Idabel	6,961 ²	58% ¹	13% ¹	30% ¹	3% ¹	Swink ¹
Altus	18,729 ²	58% ¹	0% ¹	0% ¹	8% ¹	Tillman ¹
Lawton	90,381 ²	54% ¹	2% ¹	33% ¹	24% ¹	Foard ¹
McAlester	18,171 ²	53% ¹	76% ¹	65% ¹	6% ¹	Bengal ¹
Wagoner	7,621 ²	50% ¹	92% ¹	6% ¹	0% ¹	Dennis ¹
Moore	62,793 ²	50% ¹	0% ¹	13% ¹	12% ¹	Renfrow ¹
Muskogee	36,878 ²	49% ¹	73% ¹	6% ¹	6% ¹	Dennis ¹
Cushing	8,327 ²	48% ¹	16% ¹	28% ¹	6% ¹	Agra ¹
Piedmont	7,402 ²	46% ¹	0% ¹	27% ¹	5% ¹	Renfrow ¹
Vinita	5,193 ²	46% ¹	73% ¹	20% ¹	12% ¹	Dennis ¹
The Village	9,538 ²	46% ¹	0% ¹	3% ¹	2% ¹	Renthin ¹
Owasso	38,240 ²	45% ¹	72% ¹	25% ¹	6% ¹	Dennis ¹
Glenpool	13,691 ²	43% ¹	85% ¹	23% ¹	7% ¹	Dennis ¹
Skiatook	8,450 ²	42% ¹	71% ¹	37% ¹	6% ¹	Dennis ¹
Enid	51,308 ²	40% ¹	24% ¹	9% ¹	5% ¹	Bethany ¹
Ardmore	24,725 ²	39% ¹	9% ¹	12% ¹	8% ¹	Windthorst ¹
Verdigris	5,256 ²	38% ¹	59% ¹	30% ¹	4% ¹	Dennis ¹
Claremore	19,580 ²	37% ¹	60% ¹	39% ¹	4% ¹	Dennis ¹
Ponca City	24,424 ²	37% ¹	12% ¹	19% ¹	6% ¹	Milan ¹
Sallisaw	8,510 ²	37% ¹	64% ¹	30% ¹	9% ¹	Stigler ¹
Sulphur	5,065 ²	36% ¹	0% ¹	35% ¹	6% ¹	Rayford ¹
Collinsville	7,881 ²	35% ¹	70% ¹	31% ¹	6% ¹	Dennis ¹
Bartlesville	37,290 ²	35% ¹	43% ¹	38% ¹	17% ¹	Dennis ¹
Pauls Valley	5,992 ²	34% ¹	0% ¹	15% ¹	5% ¹	Keokuk ¹
Stillwater	48,394 ²	33% ¹	0% ¹	26% ¹	16% ¹	Renfrow ¹
Ada	16,481 ²	32% ¹	6% ¹	39% ¹	11% ¹	Durant ¹
Broken Arrow	113,540 ²	31% ¹	57% ¹	10% ¹	6% ¹	Dennis ¹
Seminole	7,146 ²	29% ¹	53% ¹	47% ¹	15% ¹	Seminole ¹
Tulsa	413,066 ²	29% ¹	61% ¹	24% ¹	9% ¹	Dennis ¹
Warr Acres	10,452 ²	28% ¹	0% ¹	10% ¹	0% ¹	Teller ¹
Jenks	25,949 ²	27% ¹	56% ¹	20% ¹	18% ¹	Dennis ¹
Shawnee	31,377 ²	26% ¹	2% ¹	19% ¹	13% ¹	Renfrow ¹
Duncan	22,692 ²	26% ¹	0% ¹	38% ¹	6% ¹	Stephenville ¹
Sapulpa	21,929 ²	26% ¹	62% ¹	55% ¹	15% ¹	Bigheart ¹
Coweta	9,654 ²	26% ¹	63% ¹	19% ¹	3% ¹	Dennis ¹
Catoosa	7,440 ²	25% ¹	37% ¹	55% ¹	9% ¹	Shidler ¹
Tecumseh	6,302 ²	22% ¹	0% ¹	31% ¹	8% ¹	Chickasha ¹
Bixby	28,609 ²	22% ¹	39% ¹	20% ¹	21% ¹	Choska ¹
Noble	6,985 ²	22% ¹	4% ¹	14% ¹	5% ¹	Norge ¹
Tahlequah	16,209 ²	22% ¹	20% ¹	3% ¹	6% ¹	Clarksville ¹
Oklahoma City	681,054 ²	21% ¹	3% ¹	30% ¹	9% ¹	Stephenville ¹
Henryetta	5,640 ²	20% ¹	53% ¹	63% ¹	6% ¹	Dennis ¹
Norman	128,026 ²	20% ¹	4% ¹	36% ¹	12% ¹	Stephenville ¹
Okmulgee	11,322 ²	19% ¹	50% ¹	33% ¹	9% ¹	Dennis ¹
Poteau	8,807 ²	18% ¹	54% ¹	21% ¹	48% ¹	Neff ¹
El Reno	16,989 ²	18% ¹	4% ¹	0% ¹	10% ¹	Norge ¹
Chickasha	16,051 ²	18% ¹	0% ¹	3% ¹	10% ¹	Teller ¹
Sand Springs	19,874 ²	18% ¹	40% ¹	43% ¹	10% ¹	Niotaze ¹
Alva	5,028 ²	17% ¹	0% ¹	5% ¹	1% ¹	Hardeman ¹
Yukon	23,630 ²	16% ¹	9% ¹	8% ¹	12% ¹	Dale ¹
Edmond	94,428 ²	16% ¹	2% ¹	49% ¹	12% ¹	Stephenville ¹
Del City	21,822 ²	13% ¹	2% ¹	9% ¹	12% ¹	Norge ¹
Midwest City	58,409 ²	10% ¹	1% ¹	23% ¹	6% ¹	Harrah ¹
Grove	6,956 ²	9% ¹	21% ¹	5% ¹	5% ¹	Eldorado ¹
Bethany	20,831 ²	9% ¹	0% ¹	1% ¹	0% ¹	Konawa ¹
Anadarko	5,745 ²	8% ¹	0% ¹	16% ¹	10% ¹	Pond Creek ¹
Choctaw	12,182 ²	7% ¹	7% ¹	39% ¹	10% ¹	Stephenville ¹
Purcell	6,651 ²	6% ¹	16% ¹	17% ¹	25% ¹	Grant ¹
Harrah	6,245 ²	6% ¹	8% ¹	30% ¹	12% ¹	Littleaxe ¹
Newcastle	10,984 ²	5% ¹	13% ¹	38% ¹	17% ¹	Grant ¹
Guthrie	10,749 ²	4% ¹	0% ¹	47% ¹	15% ¹	Coyle ¹
Guymon	12,965 ²	2% ¹	0% ¹	0% ¹	1% ¹	Conlen ¹
Tuttle	7,413 ²	2% ¹	5% ¹	11% ¹	11% ¹	Minco ¹
Blanchard	8,879 ²	1% ¹	0% ¹	71% ¹	10% ¹	Stephenville ¹
Mustang	19,879 ²	1% ¹	0% ¹	92% ¹	1% ¹	Kingfisher ¹
Clinton	8,521 ²	0% ¹	0% ¹	37% ¹	7% ¹	Carey ¹
Weatherford	12,076 ²	0% ¹	0% ¹	9% ¹	0% ¹	Pond Creek ¹
Elk City	11,561 ²	0% ¹	0% ¹	53% ¹	6% ¹	Grandfield ¹
Woodward	12,133 ²	0% ¹	1% ¹	40% ¹	1% ¹	Woodward ¹

Shares are of the land inside each city's limits ². "High shrink-swell" means the soil's most expansive layer has a linear extensibility of 6% or more ¹. Water table, bedrock and flooding come from the soil survey's map-unit summaries ¹.

How were these numbers measured?

We overlaid the city limits from the Census Bureau ² on the USDA soil survey's map units ¹ and added up the area of each soil. Where a map unit is a mix of soils, its area was split by the percentages the survey lists for its major soils, so shares leave out minor inclusions and do not add to 100%. Shrink-swell is rated by the linear extensibility of a soil's most expansive layer, the survey's measure of how much it changes length between wet and dry (6% or more is high). Water table, bedrock and flooding come from the survey's map-unit summaries: the shallowest water table in any month, the shallowest bedrock, and the most common flooding frequency. Bedrock here includes soft, weathered sandstone and shale that a pier can push through, so it is not the depth where piers stop. These are mapped averages, not a test of any one lot; fill, grading and the soil actually under a house can differ, which is why a site visit or soil boring still decides a repair.

Common questions

Which Oklahoma city has the most expansive soil?

Of the 75 Oklahoma cities with 5,000 or more people, Hugo has the largest share of land in soils rated high shrink-swell, about 86%, followed by Miami at about 74%.

Which has the least?

Woodward, about 0%, and Elk City, about 0%.

Which cities have the shallowest water tables?

Wagoner (92%), Glenpool (85%) and Miami (84%) have the largest share of land with a water table within 2 feet at some time of year.

Which cities have the most shallow rock?

Mustang (92%), Blanchard (71%) and McAlester (65%) have the largest share of land with bedrock within 40 inches.

Sources

Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), queried through Soil Data Access, November 2026 USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
TIGERweb, 2020 Census: Incorporated Places and ZIP Code Tabulation Areas U.S. Census Bureau

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Which Oklahoma cities have the most expansive soil?

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