What's My Soil

A field guide to the soil under your feet

Soil series profile

Honeoye soil series

Honeoye is a well drained soil with a silt loam surface, mapped on 303,655 acres in 18 counties in NY. Hydrologic group B.

#1118 by mapped area fine-loamy Glossic Hapludalfs (Alfisols)

Drainage class
Well drained
100% of mapped acres
Hydrologic group
B
99% of mapped acres
Typical topsoil pH
6.3
slightly acidic · range 6.3–6.3
Mapped area
304k
acres in 18 counties, 1 state

Typical Honeoye profile

Texture and pH by depth

Typical Honeoye soil profile by depth 0 in 20 in 40 in 60 in 0–8 in · Ap · pH 6.3 · 19% clay Silt loam 8–10 in · E · pH 6.3 · 19% clay Silt loam 10–14 in · Bt/E · pH 6.3 · 22% clay Loam 14–23 in · Bt1 · pH 7.0 · 22% clay Loam 23–29 in · Bt2 · pH 7.6 · 22% clay Gravelly loam 29–79 in · C · pH 8.2 · 17% clay Gravelly loam
Depth to scale. More strongly shaded layers hold more clay. Horizon names are the soil survey's (A = topsoil, B = subsoil, C = parent material).
Show as a table
Typical Honeoye horizons (representative values)
Depth Texture pH Clay Sand Organic matter
0–8 in (Ap) Silt loam 6.3 19% 26% 3%
8–10 in (E) Silt loam 6.3 19% 26% 1.5%
10–14 in (Bt/E) Loam 6.3 22% 37% 1.5%
14–23 in (Bt1) Loam 7.0 22% 37% 1.5%
23–29 in (Bt2) Gravelly loam 7.6 22% 37% 1.5%
29–79 in (C) Gravelly loam 8.2 17% 41% 0.5%

Representative values from the most extensive Honeoye map unit (Honeoye silt loam, 3 to 8 percent slopes, survey area NY011). Other map units of this series vary within the series range.

Hands holding dark garden soil
Stock photo for illustration, not a sample of this soil series. Credit on the Sources & method page.

What this means

What Honeoye soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems

For gardens

Typical topsoil in Honeoye soils is slightly acidic: pH 6.3, the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.

Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers >99% of mapped Honeoye acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (76% of mapped Honeoye acres).

100% of mapped Honeoye acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.

For lawns and yards

Most land is in hydrologic groups B and C, where rain soaks in at a moderate pace.

For a septic system

For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates 18% of the acres in mapped Honeoye soils very limited, 82% somewhat limited and 0% not limited.

Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.

Generated from the mapped numbers above using fixed rules, not a site visit. See how these notes are written.

Where Honeoye soil is found

Mapped acres

Honeoye is mapped in New York.

Counties with the most mapped Honeoye soil
County Acres Share of county land
Onondaga County, NY 57,941 11.6%
Cayuga County, NY 52,561 12.4%
Madison County, NY 35,064 8.4%
Ontario County, NY 32,270 7.8%
Herkimer County, NY 28,907 3.2%
Oneida County, NY 23,264 3.0%
Yates County, NY 17,741 8.2%
Schoharie County, NY 15,365 3.9%
Seneca County, NY 10,627 5.1%
Monroe County, NY 9,423 2.2%
Otsego County, NY 5,067 0.8%
Livingston County, NY 3,883 0.9%
Wayne County, NY 3,258 0.8%
Genesee County, NY 2,873 0.9%
Tompkins County, NY 2,766 0.9%
Erie County, NY 2,132 0.3%
Orleans County, NY 261 0.1%
Niagara County, NY 250 0.1%

Septic absorption fields

NRCS rating, share of Honeoye acres

Not limited 0%
Somewhat limited 82%
Very limited 18%
Not rated <1%
Septic tank absorption field rating across mapped Honeoye acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
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Septic tank absorption field rating across mapped Honeoye acres.
CategoryShare of acres
Not limited0.0%
Somewhat limited81.5%
Very limited18.2%
Not rated0.3%

Drainage, water table and flooding

Share of Honeoye acres

Depth to seasonal high water table
About 2.5 feet (30 in) (median where reported).
Flooding
Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
Slope
Typically 6–20% (median 6%).
Topsoil organic matter
Median 3%.

Drainage class

Excessively drained 0%
Somewhat excessively drained 0%
Well drained 100%
Moderately well drained 0%
Somewhat poorly drained 0%
Poorly drained 0%
Very poorly drained 0%
Drainage class across mapped Honeoye acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Drainage class across mapped Honeoye acres.
CategoryShare of acres
Excessively drained0.0%
Somewhat excessively drained0.0%
Well drained100.0%
Moderately well drained0.0%
Somewhat poorly drained0.0%
Poorly drained0.0%
Very poorly drained0.0%

Hydrologic soil group

A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) 0%
B: moderate infiltration 99%
C: slow infiltration <1%
D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet) 0%
A/D: D as is, A if drained 0%
B/D: D as is, B if drained 0%
C/D: D as is, C if drained 0%
Not rated <1%
Hydrologic soil group across mapped Honeoye acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Hydrologic soil group across mapped Honeoye acres.
CategoryShare of acres
A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly)0.0%
B: moderate infiltration99.0%
C: slow infiltration0.7%
D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet)0.0%
A/D: D as is, A if drained0.0%
B/D: D as is, B if drained0.0%
C/D: D as is, C if drained0.0%
Not rated0.3%

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 map unit components named Honeoye (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 303,655 acres.
Method
Shares are by mapped acres of Honeoye components. The profile comes from the single largest Honeoye component. Full methodology.

Independent reference site. No government affiliation or endorsement.

Full narrative description: USDA Official Soil Series Description for Honeoye.