Soil series profile
Memphis soil series
Memphis is a well drained soil with a silt loam surface, mapped on 1,868,009 acres in 60 counties across 6 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained >99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B >99% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 5.3 strongly acidic · range 5.3–5.8
- Mapped area
- 1.9M acres in 60 counties, 6 states
Typical Memphis profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–3 in (A) | Silt loam | 5.3 | 18% | 5% | 1.9% |
| 3–9 in (E) | Silt loam | 5.3 | 15% | 2% | 0.25% |
| 9–16 in (Bt1) | Silt loam | 5.7 | 27% | 2% | 0.38% |
| 16–44 in (Bt2) | Silt loam | 5.3 | 22% | 2% | 0.19% |
| 44–67 in (Bt3) | Silt loam | 5.8 | 18% | 1% | 0.1% |
| 67–79 in (Bt4) | Silt loam | 5.5 | 16% | 1% | 0.07% |
What this means
What Memphis soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Memphis soils is strongly acidic: pH 5.3 (most land between 5.3 and 5.8). 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.
Loamy topsoil (loam, silt loam and similar) covers >99% of mapped Memphis acres: generally the easiest soil to garden, holding moisture without staying waterlogged. The most common surface texture is silt loam (96% of mapped Memphis acres).
>99% of mapped Memphis 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 47% of the acres in mapped Memphis soils very limited, 53% 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 Memphis soil is found
Mapped acres
Memphis is mapped in Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Kentucky.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Hinds County, MS | 129,181 | 23.4% |
| Adams County, MS | 124,044 | 48.6% |
| Holmes County, MS | 118,240 | 25.5% |
| Tipton County, TN | 105,463 | 36.4% |
| Jefferson County, MS | 100,942 | 32.9% |
| Claiborne County, MS | 100,022 | 34.2% |
| Shelby County, TN | 96,744 | 19.8% |
| Obion County, TN | 93,608 | 26.3% |
| Warren County, MS | 92,957 | 25.5% |
| Wilkinson County, MS | 86,503 | 20.1% |
| Lauderdale County, TN | 85,532 | 28.6% |
| Yazoo County, MS | 84,237 | 15.0% |
| Carroll County, MS | 80,687 | 20.9% |
| Tallahatchie County, MS | 65,176 | 17.4% |
| Haywood County, TN | 43,929 | 11.5% |
| Scott County, MO | 42,850 | 16.8% |
| Tate County, MS | 35,795 | 14.6% |
| Stoddard County, MO | 32,334 | 6.5% |
| Lafayette Parish, LA | 28,374 | 16.6% |
| Dyer County, TN | 27,523 | 8.3% |
| Panola County, MS | 22,822 | 5.4% |
| Grenada County, MS | 22,710 | 9.2% |
| Phillips County, AR | 20,810 | 4.7% |
| Fayette County, TN | 20,780 | 4.7% |
| DeSoto County, MS | 20,224 | 6.8% |
| St. Landry Parish, LA | 19,809 | 3.4% |
| Lee County, AR | 18,960 | 4.9% |
| Madison County, MS | 18,509 | 4.1% |
| Marshall County, MS | 10,924 | 2.5% |
| Fulton County, KY | 10,683 | 8.0% |
| Catahoula Parish, LA | 9,387 | 2.1% |
| St. Francis County, AR | 9,119 | 2.3% |
| Clay County, AR | 8,501 | 2.1% |
| Cross County, AR | 7,640 | 1.9% |
| Yalobusha County, MS | 7,275 | 2.6% |
| Franklin Parish, LA | 7,020 | 1.8% |
| Craighead County, AR | 6,870 | 1.5% |
| Avoyelles Parish, LA | 6,685 | 1.3% |
| Greene County, AR | 6,145 | 1.8% |
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 5,416 | 1.5% |
| Franklin County, MS | 5,323 | 1.6% |
| St. Martin Parish, LA | 4,643 | 1.0% |
| Dunklin County, MO | 4,410 | 1.3% |
| Poinsett County, AR | 3,862 | 0.8% |
| Copiah County, MS | 3,168 | 0.6% |
| West Carroll Parish, LA | 3,071 | 1.3% |
| Iberia Parish, LA | 2,639 | 0.8% |
| Monroe County, AR | 2,526 | 0.7% |
| Vermilion Parish, LA | 1,507 | 0.2% |
| Bollinger County, MO | 719 | 0.2% |
| Weakley County, TN | 526 | 0.1% |
| Ascension Parish, LA | 441 | 0.2% |
| Lafayette County, MS | 233 | 0.1% |
| Montgomery County, MS | 167 | 0.1% |
| McLean County, KY | 153 | 0.1% |
| Crockett County, TN | 108 | 0.1% |
| Henderson County, KY | 41 | 0.0% |
| Gibson County, TN | 26 | 0.0% |
| Muhlenberg County, KY | 11 | 0.0% |
| Acadia Parish, LA | 5 | 0.0% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Memphis acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.3% |
| Somewhat limited | 52.6% |
| Very limited | 46.8% |
| Not rated | 0.3% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Memphis 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 4–29% (median 12%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 1.5%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 99.9% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Not rated | 0.1% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 0.0% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 99.7% |
| 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 | 0.3% |
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 Memphis (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 1,868,009 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Memphis components. The profile comes from the single largest Memphis component. Full methodology.