Soil series profile
Lucy soil series
Lucy is a well drained soil with a loamy sand surface, mapped on 830,734 acres in 110 counties across 8 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained >99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 86% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 5.3 strongly acidic · range 5.3–5.6
- Mapped area
- 831k acres in 110 counties, 8 states
Typical Lucy profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–8 in (Ap) | Loamy sand | 5.3 | 7% | 84% | 0.75% |
| 8–24 in (E) | Loamy sand | 5.3 | 7% | 84% | 0.25% |
| 24–35 in (Bt1) | Sandy loam | 5.3 | 18% | 67% | 0.1% |
| 35–70 in (Bt2) | Sandy clay loam | 5.3 | 33% | 54% | 0.1% |
What this means
What Lucy soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Lucy soils is strongly acidic: pH 5.3 (most land between 5.3 and 5.6). 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 >99% of mapped Lucy 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 loamy sand (81% of mapped Lucy acres).
>99% of mapped Lucy 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 13% of the acres in mapped Lucy soils very limited, 86% somewhat limited and <1% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Lucy soil is found
Mapped acres
Lucy is mapped in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina and Arkansas. The 60 counties with the most Lucy acres:
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Barbour County, AL | 41,266 | 8.6% |
| Coffee County, AL | 39,649 | 10.4% |
| Crenshaw County, AL | 27,406 | 7.8% |
| Santa Rosa County, FL | 26,413 | 3.6% |
| Burke County, GA | 26,264 | 5.7% |
| Henry County, AL | 25,520 | 8.3% |
| Lamar County, MS | 24,419 | 8.0% |
| Decatur County, GA | 24,202 | 7.6% |
| Leon County, FL | 21,215 | 5.0% |
| Jefferson County, GA | 20,725 | 7.1% |
| Houston County, GA | 20,505 | 8.7% |
| Macon County, GA | 19,699 | 8.7% |
| Randolph County, GA | 19,372 | 8.3% |
| Baker County, GA | 18,207 | 9.6% |
| Monroe County, AL | 16,170 | 2.9% |
| Orangeburg County, SC | 15,751 | 2.3% |
| Jefferson County, FL | 15,089 | 3.9% |
| Ouachita Parish, LA | 15,045 | 3.9% |
| Gadsden County, FL | 14,891 | 4.5% |
| Pike County, AL | 14,360 | 3.8% |
| Lauderdale County, MS | 13,388 | 3.5% |
| Webster County, GA | 12,461 | 10.9% |
| Aiken County, SC | 11,994 | 1.7% |
| Mitchell County, GA | 11,012 | 4.0% |
| Lee County, GA | 10,650 | 5.1% |
| Washington County, GA | 10,574 | 2.8% |
| Richmond County, GA | 10,410 | 5.1% |
| Madison County, FL | 10,341 | 2.3% |
| Sumter County, GA | 10,281 | 3.7% |
| Houston County, AL | 10,035 | 3.1% |
| Dougherty County, GA | 9,926 | 5.1% |
| Seminole County, GA | 9,584 | 7.1% |
| Schley County, GA | 9,358 | 9.9% |
| Wilkinson County, GA | 9,231 | 3.7% |
| Covington County, AL | 8,622 | 1.5% |
| Stewart County, GA | 8,581 | 3.3% |
| Peach County, GA | 8,491 | 9.0% |
| Sumter County, SC | 8,386 | 2.0% |
| Clay County, GA | 8,207 | 7.7% |
| Okaloosa County, FL | 8,124 | 1.4% |
| Marion County, GA | 7,480 | 3.2% |
| Holmes County, FL | 7,154 | 2.3% |
| Walton County, FL | 7,053 | 1.0% |
| Adams County, MS | 6,592 | 2.6% |
| Escambia County, AL | 6,491 | 1.2% |
| Terrell County, GA | 6,094 | 3.0% |
| Dallas County, AL | 5,934 | 1.1% |
| Calhoun County, SC | 5,655 | 2.4% |
| Macon County, AL | 5,526 | 1.6% |
| Escambia County, FL | 5,383 | 1.3% |
| Miller County, GA | 5,121 | 3.2% |
| Geneva County, AL | 5,062 | 1.6% |
| Thomas County, GA | 4,305 | 1.5% |
| Hancock County, GA | 4,188 | 1.4% |
| Early County, GA | 3,948 | 1.3% |
| Pulaski County, GA | 3,816 | 2.8% |
| Glascock County, GA | 3,808 | 4.7% |
| Crisp County, GA | 3,692 | 2.4% |
| Columbia County, FL | 3,592 | 0.7% |
| Laurens County, GA | 3,523 | 0.8% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Lucy acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.3% |
| Somewhat limited | 85.8% |
| Very limited | 13.2% |
| Not rated | 0.7% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Lucy acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- None reported within about 6.5 feet (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 3–13% (median 3%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 0.8%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.2% |
| Well drained | 99.5% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 0.3% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 13.5% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 85.8% |
| C: slow infiltration | 0.0% |
| 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% |
| Not rated | 0.7% |
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 Lucy (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 830,734 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Lucy components. The profile comes from the single largest Lucy component. Full methodology.