What's My Soil

A field guide to the soil under your feet

Soil series profile

Lakewood soil series

Lakewood is a excessively drained soil with a sand surface, mapped on 113,920 acres in 9 counties across 2 states. Hydrologic group A.

#3167 by mapped area Spodic Quartzipsamments (Entisols)

Drainage class
Excessively drained
100% of mapped acres
Hydrologic group
A
100% of mapped acres
Typical topsoil pH
4.3
extremely acidic · range 4.3–4.3
Mapped area
114k
acres in 9 counties, 2 states

Typical Lakewood profile

Texture and pH by depth

Typical Lakewood soil profile by depth 0 in 20 in 40 in 60 in 0–3 in · A · pH 4.3 · 4% clay Sand 3–11 in · E · pH 4.3 · 4% clay Sand 11–13 in · Bh · pH 4.3 · 5% clay Loamy sand 13–30 in · BC · pH 4.8 · 4% clay Sand 30–46 in · C1 · pH 4.8 · 4% clay Sand 46–80 in · C2 · pH 4.3 · 4% clay Sand
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 Lakewood horizons (representative values)
Depth Texture pH Clay Sand Organic matter
0–3 in (A) Sand 4.3 4% 92% 1.5%
3–11 in (E) Sand 4.3 4% 92% 0%
11–13 in (Bh) Loamy sand 4.3 5% 85% 0.75%
13–30 in (BC) Sand 4.8 4% 92% 0%
30–46 in (C1) Sand 4.8 4% 92% 0%
46–80 in (C2) Sand 4.3 4% 92% 0%

Representative values from the most extensive Lakewood map unit (Lakewood sand, 0 to 5 percent slopes, survey area NJ029). 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 Lakewood soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems

For gardens

Typical topsoil in Lakewood soils is extremely acidic: pH 4.3. Most vegetables and lawn grasses do best around 6.0 to 7.0, so lime is often needed; blueberries, azaleas and rhododendrons like it as it is.

Sandy topsoil covers 100% of mapped Lakewood acres. It drains fast and warms early in spring, but dries out and loses nutrients quickly: mulch, compost and steady watering help. The most common surface texture is sand (94% of mapped Lakewood acres).

100% of mapped Lakewood acres is excessively or somewhat excessively drained: water moves through fast, so gardens need more frequent watering in dry spells.

For lawns and yards

100% of mapped acres is in hydrologic group A, where water soaks in fast. Lawns there dry out quickly; deeper, less frequent watering and organic matter help.

For a septic system

For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates 100% of the acres in mapped Lakewood soils very limited, 0% somewhat limited and 0% not limited.

Where the soil is very limited (slow permeability, a high water table, flooding, shallow bedrock or steep slopes), alternative systems such as mound or sand-filter designs are common and cost more.

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 Lakewood soil is found

Mapped acres

Lakewood is mapped in New Jersey and Alabama.

Counties with the most mapped Lakewood soil
County Acres Share of county land
Ocean County, NJ 40,426 8.3%
Burlington County, NJ 40,022 7.6%
Atlantic County, NJ 9,154 2.3%
Monmouth County, NJ 8,163 2.7%
Camden County, NJ 7,599 5.2%
Baldwin County, AL 3,874 0.4%
Cumberland County, NJ 2,480 0.8%
Gloucester County, NJ 1,749 0.8%
Middlesex County, NJ 454 0.2%

Septic absorption fields

NRCS rating, share of Lakewood acres

Not limited 0%
Somewhat limited 0%
Very limited 100%
Septic tank absorption field rating across mapped Lakewood acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Septic tank absorption field rating across mapped Lakewood acres.
CategoryShare of acres
Not limited0.0%
Somewhat limited0.0%
Very limited100.0%

Drainage, water table and flooding

Share of Lakewood acres

Depth to seasonal high water table
About 5.9 feet (71 in) (median where reported).
Flooding
Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
Slope
Typically 3–3% (median 3%).
Topsoil organic matter
Median 1.5%.

Drainage class

Excessively drained 100%
Somewhat excessively drained 0%
Well drained 0%
Moderately well drained 0%
Somewhat poorly drained 0%
Poorly drained 0%
Very poorly drained 0%
Drainage class across mapped Lakewood acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Drainage class across mapped Lakewood acres.
CategoryShare of acres
Excessively drained100.0%
Somewhat excessively drained0.0%
Well drained0.0%
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) 100%
B: moderate infiltration 0%
C: slow infiltration 0%
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%
Hydrologic soil group across mapped Lakewood acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Hydrologic soil group across mapped Lakewood acres.
CategoryShare of acres
A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly)100.0%
B: moderate infiltration0.0%
C: slow infiltration0.0%
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%

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 Lakewood (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 113,920 acres.
Method
Shares are by mapped acres of Lakewood components. The profile comes from the single largest Lakewood component. Full methodology.

Independent reference site. No government affiliation or endorsement.

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