What's My Soil

A field guide to the soil under your feet

Soil series profile

Nueces soil series

Nueces is a moderately well drained soil with a fine sand surface, mapped on 456,947 acres in 14 counties in TX. Hydrologic group B.

#650 by mapped area loamy Arenic Paleustalfs (Alfisols)

Drainage class
Moderately well drained
98% of mapped acres
Hydrologic group
B
93% of mapped acres
Typical topsoil pH
6.5
slightly acidic · range 6.5–6.5
Mapped area
457k
acres in 14 counties, 1 state

Typical Nueces profile

Texture and pH by depth

Typical Nueces soil profile by depth 0 in 20 in 40 in 60 in 0–11 in · A · pH 6.5 · 4% clay Fine sand 11–34 in · E · pH 6.5 · 4% clay Fine sand 34–45 in · 2Bt1 · pH 7.5 · 26% clay Sandy clay loam 45–80 in · 2Bt2 · pH 7.5 · 24% clay Sandy clay 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 Nueces horizons (representative values)
Depth Texture pH Clay Sand Organic matter
0–11 in (A) Fine sand 6.5 4% 89% 0.5%
11–34 in (E) Fine sand 6.5 4% 88% 0.3%
34–45 in (2Bt1) Sandy clay loam 7.5 26% 66% 0.3%
45–80 in (2Bt2) Sandy clay loam 7.5 24% 66% 0.2%

Representative values from the most extensive Nueces map unit (Nueces-Sarita association, 0 to 3 percent slopes, survey area TX247). 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 Nueces soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems

For gardens

Typical topsoil in Nueces soils is slightly acidic: pH 6.5, the range most vegetables, flowers and lawn grasses prefer.

Sandy topsoil covers 94% of mapped Nueces 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 fine sand (94% of mapped Nueces acres).

98% of mapped Nueces 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 1% of the acres in mapped Nueces soils very limited, 93% somewhat limited and 0% not limited (6% not rated, such as urban land, pits or water).

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 Nueces soil is found

Mapped acres

Nueces is mapped in Texas.

Counties with the most mapped Nueces soil
County Acres Share of county land
Brooks County, TX 132,880 22.1%
Jim Hogg County, TX 130,891 18.0%
Hidalgo County, TX 91,142 9.1%
Duval County, TX 22,579 2.0%
Willacy County, TX 20,859 4.9%
Webb County, TX 18,184 0.8%
Kenedy County, TX 17,954 1.7%
Zapata County, TX 10,639 1.6%
Nueces County, TX 4,333 0.8%
Jim Wells County, TX 3,134 0.6%
San Patricio County, TX 2,623 0.6%
Kleberg County, TX 1,048 0.2%
Starr County, TX 416 0.1%
Frio County, TX 265 0.0%

Septic absorption fields

NRCS rating, share of Nueces acres

Not limited 0%
Somewhat limited 93%
Very limited 1%
Not rated 6%
Septic tank absorption field rating across mapped Nueces acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Septic tank absorption field rating across mapped Nueces acres.
CategoryShare of acres
Not limited0.0%
Somewhat limited93.2%
Very limited1.1%
Not rated5.7%

Drainage, water table and flooding

Share of Nueces 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 1–2% (median 2%).
Topsoil organic matter
Median 0.5%.

Drainage class

Excessively drained 0%
Somewhat excessively drained 0%
Well drained 0%
Moderately well drained 98%
Somewhat poorly drained 0%
Poorly drained 0%
Very poorly drained 0%
Not rated 2%
Drainage class across mapped Nueces acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Drainage class across mapped Nueces acres.
CategoryShare of acres
Excessively drained0.0%
Somewhat excessively drained0.0%
Well drained0.0%
Moderately well drained98.4%
Somewhat poorly drained0.0%
Poorly drained0.0%
Very poorly drained0.0%
Not rated1.6%

Hydrologic soil group

A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) 0%
B: moderate infiltration 93%
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 6%
Hydrologic soil group across mapped Nueces acres. Scale 0 to 100% of mapped land.
Show as a table
Hydrologic soil group across mapped Nueces acres.
CategoryShare of acres
A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly)0.0%
B: moderate infiltration93.2%
C: slow infiltration1.1%
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 rated5.7%

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 Nueces (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 456,947 acres.
Method
Shares are by mapped acres of Nueces components. The profile comes from the single largest Nueces component. Full methodology.

Independent reference site. No government affiliation or endorsement.

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