Soil series profile
Orangeburg soil series
Orangeburg is a well drained soil with a sandy loam surface, mapped on 1,932,855 acres in 115 counties across 8 states. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained >99% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 75% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 5.3 strongly acidic · range 5.3–5.5
- Mapped area
- 1.9M acres in 115 counties, 8 states
Typical Orangeburg profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–6 in (Ap) | Sandy loam | 5.3 | 11% | 66% | 1.25% |
| 6–12 in (BA) | Sandy loam | 5.3 | 13% | 68% | 0.6% |
| 12–72 in (Bt) | Sandy clay loam | 5.0 | 27% | 56% | 0.18% |
What this means
What Orangeburg soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Orangeburg soils is strongly acidic: pH 5.3 (most land between 5.3 and 5.5). 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 53% of mapped Orangeburg 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 (45% of mapped Orangeburg acres).
>99% of mapped Orangeburg 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 Orangeburg soils very limited, 75% somewhat limited and 12% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Orangeburg soil is found
Mapped acres
Orangeburg is mapped in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Mississippi and Arkansas. The 60 counties with the most Orangeburg acres:
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Covington County, AL | 121,994 | 20.6% |
| Conecuh County, AL | 106,186 | 22.1% |
| Coffee County, AL | 98,865 | 26.0% |
| Escambia County, AL | 81,753 | 15.2% |
| Leon County, FL | 68,700 | 16.1% |
| Twiggs County, GA | 62,718 | 28.8% |
| Wilkinson County, GA | 60,388 | 24.1% |
| Washington County, GA | 52,580 | 14.0% |
| Butler County, AL | 51,705 | 11.7% |
| Jefferson County, GA | 50,271 | 17.2% |
| Geneva County, AL | 46,575 | 14.4% |
| Jackson County, FL | 46,405 | 7.8% |
| Crenshaw County, AL | 39,006 | 11.1% |
| Jefferson County, FL | 38,057 | 9.9% |
| Houston County, GA | 37,298 | 15.8% |
| Santa Rosa County, FL | 37,134 | 5.1% |
| Gadsden County, FL | 36,009 | 10.9% |
| Thomas County, GA | 33,232 | 11.2% |
| Laurens County, GA | 29,836 | 6.7% |
| Dougherty County, GA | 29,350 | 14.9% |
| Baker County, GA | 28,981 | 15.2% |
| Sumter County, GA | 28,440 | 10.3% |
| Stewart County, GA | 26,877 | 10.5% |
| Marion County, GA | 26,381 | 11.3% |
| Macon County, GA | 26,088 | 11.6% |
| Burke County, GA | 25,714 | 5.6% |
| Decatur County, GA | 24,804 | 7.8% |
| Orangeburg County, SC | 22,755 | 3.3% |
| Henry County, AL | 22,226 | 7.2% |
| Houston County, AL | 21,775 | 6.7% |
| Randolph County, GA | 21,692 | 9.3% |
| Calhoun County, GA | 20,760 | 12.7% |
| Aiken County, SC | 20,221 | 2.9% |
| Early County, GA | 19,806 | 6.6% |
| Schley County, GA | 19,520 | 20.7% |
| Elmore County, AL | 18,542 | 5.2% |
| Calhoun County, SC | 18,405 | 8.0% |
| Peach County, GA | 17,682 | 18.8% |
| Webster County, GA | 16,844 | 14.7% |
| Richland County, SC | 15,995 | 3.4% |
| Lee County, GA | 15,100 | 7.3% |
| Richmond County, GA | 13,835 | 6.8% |
| Okaloosa County, FL | 13,289 | 2.2% |
| Dooly County, GA | 13,052 | 5.8% |
| Pulaski County, GA | 12,760 | 9.4% |
| Sumter County, SC | 12,719 | 3.0% |
| Walton County, FL | 12,130 | 1.7% |
| Mitchell County, GA | 11,640 | 4.2% |
| Grady County, GA | 11,082 | 4.6% |
| Pike County, AL | 10,848 | 2.9% |
| Hanover County, VA | 9,369 | 3.6% |
| Terrell County, GA | 8,876 | 4.4% |
| Barbour County, AL | 8,504 | 1.8% |
| Baldwin County, AL | 8,173 | 0.8% |
| Bibb County, GA | 8,053 | 5.1% |
| Johnson County, GA | 7,996 | 4.8% |
| Barnwell County, SC | 7,840 | 3.7% |
| Holmes County, FL | 7,778 | 2.5% |
| Baldwin County, GA | 7,740 | 4.7% |
| Hancock County, GA | 7,702 | 2.6% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Orangeburg acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 11.6% |
| Somewhat limited | 75.4% |
| Very limited | 13.0% |
| Not rated | 0.1% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Orangeburg 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 1–10% (median 4%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 1.2%.
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) | 16.0% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 74.7% |
| C: slow infiltration | 9.2% |
| 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 | 0.1% |
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 Orangeburg (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 1,932,855 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Orangeburg components. The profile comes from the single largest Orangeburg component. Full methodology.