Soil series profile
Hord soil series
Hord is a well drained soil with a silt loam surface, mapped on 1,020,412 acres in 97 counties across 3 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained >99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B >99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 6.8 neutral · range 6.5–6.8
- Mapped area
- 1.0M acres in 97 counties, 3 states
Typical Hord profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–20 in (Ap) | Silt loam | 6.8 | 20% | 22% | 2% |
| 20–36 in (Bw) | Silt loam | 7.4 | 23% | 21% | 1% |
| 36–79 in (C) | Silt loam | 8.1 | 18% | 22% | 0.75% |
What this means
What Hord soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Hord soils is neutral: pH 6.8 (most land between 6.5 and 6.8), the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers 100% of mapped Hord acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (93% of mapped Hord acres).
>99% of mapped Hord 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 4% of the acres in mapped Hord soils very limited, 96% somewhat limited and 0% not limited.
Flooding is mapped on 36% of the acres (0% occasional, 0% frequent).
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Hord soil is found
Mapped acres
Hord is mapped in Nebraska, Kansas and South Dakota. The 60 counties with the most Hord acres:
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Custer County, NE | 88,285 | 5.4% |
| Dawson County, NE | 85,713 | 13.3% |
| Buffalo County, NE | 65,018 | 10.6% |
| Lincoln County, NE | 62,194 | 3.8% |
| Ottawa County, KS | 31,819 | 6.9% |
| Greeley County, NE | 30,320 | 8.4% |
| Red Willow County, NE | 27,125 | 5.9% |
| Howard County, NE | 26,092 | 7.2% |
| Osborne County, KS | 25,808 | 4.5% |
| Barton County, KS | 25,234 | 4.5% |
| Furnas County, NE | 23,761 | 5.2% |
| Valley County, NE | 23,304 | 6.4% |
| Saline County, KS | 23,285 | 5.1% |
| Norton County, KS | 21,880 | 3.9% |
| Phillips County, KS | 20,761 | 3.6% |
| York County, NE | 20,170 | 5.5% |
| Adams County, NE | 18,565 | 5.2% |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 17,850 | 4.9% |
| McPherson County, KS | 16,537 | 2.9% |
| Sherman County, NE | 16,369 | 4.5% |
| Smith County, KS | 16,291 | 2.8% |
| Boone County, NE | 16,016 | 3.7% |
| Webster County, NE | 15,893 | 4.3% |
| Hall County, NE | 14,692 | 4.2% |
| Ness County, KS | 14,464 | 2.1% |
| Pierce County, NE | 13,980 | 3.8% |
| Mitchell County, KS | 12,821 | 2.9% |
| Jewell County, KS | 12,797 | 2.2% |
| Pawnee County, KS | 12,565 | 2.6% |
| Lincoln County, KS | 12,219 | 2.7% |
| Harlan County, NE | 11,148 | 3.2% |
| Hamilton County, NE | 11,116 | 3.2% |
| Clay County, NE | 9,099 | 2.5% |
| Antelope County, NE | 9,031 | 1.7% |
| Cedar County, NE | 9,013 | 1.9% |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 8,758 | 1.6% |
| Ellis County, KS | 8,741 | 1.5% |
| Edwards County, KS | 8,353 | 2.1% |
| Sheridan County, KS | 8,172 | 1.4% |
| Logan County, NE | 8,143 | 2.2% |
| Merrick County, NE | 8,011 | 2.6% |
| Nance County, NE | 7,599 | 2.7% |
| Graham County, KS | 7,462 | 1.3% |
| Cloud County, KS | 7,109 | 1.6% |
| Phelps County, NE | 7,037 | 2.0% |
| Trego County, KS | 6,803 | 1.2% |
| Rooks County, KS | 6,095 | 1.1% |
| Frontier County, NE | 5,561 | 0.9% |
| Ellsworth County, KS | 5,297 | 1.2% |
| Rice County, KS | 5,229 | 1.1% |
| Franklin County, NE | 4,818 | 1.3% |
| Gosper County, NE | 4,258 | 1.5% |
| Garfield County, NE | 3,620 | 1.0% |
| Kearney County, NE | 3,592 | 1.1% |
| Knox County, NE | 3,268 | 0.5% |
| Thomas County, KS | 3,016 | 0.4% |
| Thayer County, NE | 2,924 | 0.8% |
| Rush County, KS | 2,314 | 0.5% |
| Russell County, KS | 2,134 | 0.4% |
| Loup County, NE | 2,084 | 0.6% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Hord acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 95.9% |
| Very limited | 4.1% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Hord acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- About 3.1 feet (37 in) (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Mapped as flooding on 36% of acres (0% occasional, 0% frequent).
- Slope
- Typically 1–2% (median 1%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 2%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 99.3% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.7% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 0.0% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 99.2% |
| C: slow infiltration | 0.8% |
| D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet) | 0.0% |
| A/D: D as is, A if drained | 0.0% |
| B/D: D as is, B if drained | 0.0% |
| C/D: D as is, C if drained | 0.0% |
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 Hord (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 1,020,412 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Hord components. The profile comes from the single largest Hord component. Full methodology.