- Most acidic state
- 4.6
- Maine
- Most alkaline state
- 8.2
- Utah
- States below pH 6
- 25
- acidic topsoil
Typical topsoil pH, every state
Most acidic first
The typical value is the area-weighted median of the first mineral layer of soil across all mapped land in the state. The range shows where 80% of the land falls, which matters more than the median in states with both mountains and valleys.
| State | Typical pH | Most land (10th–90th %) | Strongly acidic land | Alkaline land |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Maine | 4.6 | 4.0–5.3 | 75% | 0% |
| 2. Alaska | 4.8 | 3.9–6.5 | 46% | 3% |
| 3. New Hampshire | 4.8 | 4.2–5.5 | 70% | <1% |
| 4. Alabama | 5.0 | 4.6–5.8 | 76% | 2% |
| 5. Massachusetts | 5.0 | 4.2–5.6 | 61% | <1% |
| 6. Mississippi | 5.0 | 4.8–6.5 | 78% | 1% |
| 7. New Jersey | 5.0 | 4.0–6.3 | 62% | 1% |
| 8. Vermont | 5.1 | 4.6–6.2 | 63% | 0% |
| 9. West Virginia | 5.1 | 4.4–6.0 | 70% | <1% |
| 10. North Carolina | 5.2 | 4.5–6.0 | 62% | <1% |
| 11. Rhode Island | 5.2 | 4.3–5.5 | 68% | 2% |
| 12. Arkansas | 5.3 | 5.0–6.5 | 54% | <1% |
| 13. Connecticut | 5.3 | 4.3–5.6 | 54% | <1% |
| 14. District of Columbia | 5.3 | 4.3–6.0 | 28% | 0% |
| 15. Florida | 5.3 | 4.6–6.5 | 54% | 4% |
| 16. Georgia | 5.3 | 4.6–5.8 | 57% | 0% |
| 17. Pennsylvania | 5.3 | 4.6–6.2 | 55% | 0% |
| 18. South Carolina | 5.3 | 4.6–5.8 | 62% | 0% |
| 19. Tennessee | 5.3 | 4.6–6.5 | 58% | <1% |
| 20. Virginia | 5.3 | 4.6–5.9 | 65% | <1% |
| 21. Louisiana | 5.4 | 4.8–6.8 | 45% | 2% |
| 22. Maryland | 5.4 | 4.3–6.3 | 51% | 1% |
| 23. New York | 5.5 | 4.6–6.6 | 41% | <1% |
| 24. Kentucky | 5.9 | 5.0–6.7 | 27% | 1% |
| 25. Wisconsin | 5.9 | 5.0–6.8 | 19% | <1% |
| 26. Delaware | 6.0 | 5.0–6.3 | 26% | 2% |
| 27. Hawaii | 6.0 | 4.3–7.0 | 26% | 2% |
| 28. Michigan | 6.0 | 4.5–7.0 | 29% | 4% |
| 29. Missouri | 6.0 | 5.0–7.0 | 22% | 2% |
| 30. Ohio | 6.2 | 5.0–6.7 | 20% | 2% |
| 31. Iowa | 6.3 | 5.8–7.0 | <1% | 9% |
| 32. Indiana | 6.3 | 5.8–6.8 | 6% | <1% |
| 33. Illinois | 6.5 | 5.8–7.0 | 1% | 2% |
| 34. Kansas | 6.5 | 5.8–7.9 | <1% | 25% |
| 35. Minnesota | 6.5 | 5.5–7.6 | 7% | 15% |
| 36. Oklahoma | 6.5 | 5.3–7.9 | 10% | 19% |
| 37. Washington | 6.5 | 4.8–7.3 | 18% | 8% |
| 38. Nebraska | 6.6 | 5.9–7.7 | <1% | 15% |
| 39. California | 6.7 | 5.8–8.2 | 3% | 31% |
| 40. Idaho | 6.7 | 5.6–7.9 | 3% | 20% |
| 41. Oregon | 6.7 | 5.3–7.6 | 10% | 14% |
| 42. North Dakota | 7.0 | 6.6–7.9 | 0% | 32% |
| 43. South Dakota | 7.0 | 6.5–7.8 | <1% | 29% |
| 44. Colorado | 7.2 | 6.2–8.0 | 4% | 31% |
| 45. Montana | 7.2 | 6.0–7.9 | 3% | 34% |
| 46. Wyoming | 7.4 | 6.0–8.2 | 4% | 41% |
| 47. Texas | 7.5 | 5.6–8.2 | 5% | 47% |
| 48. New Mexico | 7.8 | 7.0–8.2 | <1% | 58% |
| 49. Arizona | 7.9 | 6.8–8.2 | 0% | 57% |
| 50. Nevada | 8.0 | 7.0–8.8 | <1% | 62% |
| 51. Utah | 8.2 | 7.0–8.5 | <1% | 58% |
Why the East is acidic and the West is alkaline
The split follows rainfall. Where rain is plentiful, water moving down through the soil carries away calcium and magnesium over thousands of years and leaves the soil acidic; that is the story in New England, the Appalachians and the Southeast. Where rain is scarce, those minerals stay put and lime (calcium carbonate) builds up in the soil, which is why the Great Basin and the Southwest read alkaline.
The Great Plains sit on the boundary: North Dakota and South Dakota both come out near neutral. Mountain states such as Colorado and Montana have a wide range because acidic forest soils at elevation sit next to alkaline valley floors.
What it means in the garden
Most vegetables and lawn grasses do best between about pH 6 and 7. In the acidic states, lime is the usual fix; blueberries, azaleas and rhododendrons are the plants that like it as it is. In the alkaline states, iron and other nutrients get locked up, so acid-loving plants struggle and a soil test before adding sulfur is worth the few dollars. A statewide figure is a starting point: your own lot can differ, which is why a lab soil test decides what to add.
Sources & data dates
- Source
- USDA NRCS Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), queried through Soil Data Access. Public domain.
- Data date
- SSURGO as published on November 3, 2026 (most recent survey area update October 26, 2026). NRCS refreshes SSURGO each October.
- Scope
- All mapped land in the 50 states and DC in the current soil survey.
- Method
- State figures pool all mapped land in the state (not an average of county medians). pH is the 1:1 water pH of the first mineral horizon of each soil component, weighted by area. Bands: strongly acidic below 5.5, moderately to slightly acidic 5.5–6.4, near neutral 6.5–7.3, alkaline 7.4 and above. Full methodology.