Water hardness in the United States
1372 cities with published hardness data, sorted by population. Median: 9.1 gpg.
Median
9.1 gpg
155 mg/L CaCO₃ · hard
- 188 soft
- 282 moderately hard
- 301 hard
- 601 very hard
USGS classes: soft 0–60, moderately hard 61–120, hard 121–180, very hard >180 mg/L.
Water hardness by ZIP code in the United States
Separate page: water hardness by ZIP code in the United States →
Ranking of the hardest and softest water in the United States →
On a private well? Well water hardness by state and county →
Regions
- Alabama17 · 4.6 gpg
- Arizona12 · 13 gpg
- Arkansas5 · 4.4 gpg
- California336 · 9.5 gpg
- Colorado11 · 6.1 gpg
- Connecticut4 · 3 gpg
- Delaware3 · 3.5 gpg
- Florida17 · 8.2 gpg
- Georgia9 · 2 gpg
- Idaho9 · 9.4 gpg
- Illinois14 · 8 gpg
- Indiana40 · 20 gpg
- Iowa5 · 8 gpg
- Kansas17 · 8.4 gpg
- Kentucky9 · 7.8 gpg
- Louisiana8 · 4.7 gpg
- Maryland6 · 5.8 gpg
- Massachusetts13 · 1.9 gpg
- Michigan28 · 6.2 gpg
- Minnesota23 · 17 gpg
- Missouri32 · 10.3 gpg
- Montana4 · 8 gpg
- Nebraska4 · 10.3 gpg
- Nevada4 · 15.9 gpg
- New Jersey34 · 6.4 gpg
- New York16 · 5.2 gpg
- North Carolina15 · 1.5 gpg
- North Dakota3 · 7.8 gpg
- Ohio31 · 7 gpg
- Oklahoma3 · 6.7 gpg
- Oregon13 · 2.1 gpg
- Pennsylvania23 · 5.3 gpg
- South Carolina8 · 2.6 gpg
- Tennessee9 · 3.8 gpg
- Texas60 · 8.6 gpg
- Utah14 · 10.9 gpg
- Virginia19 · 3.6 gpg
- Washington27 · 2.8 gpg
- West Virginia6 · 5.8 gpg
- Wisconsin448 · 14.3 gpg
Largest places, hardest first
Every place is listed on its region page.
| gpg | mg/L | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Oxnard · California | 22.8 | 390 | very hard |
| Glendale · California | 21 | 360 | very hard |
| Madison · Wisconsin | 19.9 | 340 | very hard |
| Santa Clarita · California | 19.6 | 335 | very hard |
| Anaheim · California | 19.5 | 333 | very hard |
| Indianapolis · Indiana | 18.5 | 317 | very hard |
| San Antonio · Texas | 17.5 | 300 | very hard |
| Henderson · Nevada | 16.6 | 285 | very hard |
| Las Vegas · Nevada | 16.4 | 280 | very hard |
| Mesa · Arizona | 16 | 274 | very hard |
| Scottsdale AZ · Arizona | 14.6 | 250 | very hard |
| San Bernardino · California | 14.2 | 243 | very hard |
| San Diego · California | 14 | 240 | very hard |
| Amarillo · Texas | 13.9 | 238 | very hard |
| Phoenix · Arizona | 13.8 | 237 | very hard |
| Corpus Christi · Texas | 13.8 | 236 | very hard |
| Santa Ana · California | 13.5 | 231 | very hard |
| Tucson · Arizona | 13.4 | 229 | very hard |
| Brownsville · Texas | 12.5 | 215 | very hard |
| Tampa · Florida | 12.3 | 211 | very hard |
| Sioux Falls · South Dakota | 12.2 | 209 | very hard |
| Riverside · California | 11.5 | 197 | very hard |
| Chula Vista · California | 11.3 | 193 | very hard |
| Lincoln · Nebraska | 11.2 | 192 | very hard |
| Modesto · California | 10.8 | 185 | very hard |
| Huntington Beach · California | 10.5 | 180 | hard |
| El Paso · Texas | 10.2 | 175 | hard |
| Salt Lake City · Utah | 10.2 | 175 | hard |
| Grand Prairie · Texas | 9.9 | 170 | hard |
| Honolulu · Hawaii | 9.5 | 163 | hard |
| Lexington · Kentucky | 9.4 | 161 | hard |
| Spokane · Washington | 9.3 | 159 | hard |
| St. Petersburg FL · Florida | 9.2 | 158 | hard |
| Albuquerque · New Mexico | 9.1 | 155 | hard |
| Omaha · Nebraska | 9 | 154 | hard |
| Lexington · Kentucky | 8.9 | 153 | hard |
| Philadelphia · Pennsylvania | 8.9 | 152 | hard |
| San Jose · California | 8.8 | 151 | hard |
| Tallahassee · Florida | 8.8 | 150 | hard |
| Long Beach · California | 8.6 | 148 | hard |
| Garland · Texas | 8.6 | 148 | hard |
| Frisco, TX · Texas | 8.6 | 148 | hard |
| Irvine · California | 8.6 | 147 | hard |
| Fontana · California | 8.3 | 143 | hard |
| Grand Rapids · Michigan | 8.3 | 142 | hard |
| Washington, D.C. · District of Columbia | 8.1 | 139 | hard |
| New Orleans · Louisiana | 8.1 | 139 | hard |
| Aurora · Colorado | 7.9 | 136 | hard |
| Chicago · Illinois | 7.9 | 135 | hard |
| Overland Park · Kansas | 7.9 | 135 | hard |
| Cincinnati · Ohio | 7.8 | 133 | hard |
| Milwaukee · Wisconsin | 7.6 | 130 | hard |
| Fort Wayne · Indiana | 7.6 | 130 | hard |
| Fort Worth · Texas | 7.5 | 129 | hard |
| Orlando · Florida | 7.5 | 129 | hard |
| St. Louis · Missouri | 7.5 | 129 | hard |
| Los Angeles · California | 7.5 | 128 | hard |
| Louisville · Kentucky | 7.5 | 128 | hard |
| Columbus · Ohio | 7.2 | 123 | hard |
| Cleveland · Ohio | 6.8 | 117 | moderately hard |
| Tulsa · Oklahoma | 6.7 | 115 | moderately hard |
| Houston · Texas | 6.4 | 110 | moderately hard |
| Vancouver · Washington | 6.4 | 110 | moderately hard |
| Fremont · California | 6.3 | 108 | moderately hard |
| Detroit · Michigan | 6.3 | 107 | moderately hard |
| Akron · Ohio | 6.3 | 107 | moderately hard |
| Denver · Colorado | 6.1 | 105 | moderately hard |
| Rochester · New York | 6.1 | 104 | moderately hard |
| Cape Coral FL · Florida | 6 | 103 | moderately hard |
| Birmingham · Alabama | 5.7 | 98 | moderately hard |
| Baltimore · Maryland | 5.5 | 95 | moderately hard |
| Knoxville · Tennessee | 5.5 | 94 | moderately hard |
| Austin · Texas | 5.4 | 93 | moderately hard |
| Minneapolis · Minnesota | 5.4 | 93 | moderately hard |
| St. Paul · Minnesota | 5.3 | 90 | moderately hard |
| Fresno · California | 5.2 | 89 | moderately hard |
| Moreno Valley · California | 5.1 | 87 | moderately hard |
| Jersey City · New Jersey | 4.8 | 83 | moderately hard |
| Anchorage · Alaska | 4.6 | 79 | moderately hard |
| San Francisco · California | 3.6 | 62 | moderately hard |
| Virginia Beach · Virginia | 3.6 | 61 | moderately hard |
| Stockton · California | 3.4 | 58 | soft |
| Baton Rouge · Louisiana | 3 | 52 | soft |
| Norfolk · Virginia | 2.9 | 49 | soft |
| Sacramento · California | 2.8 | 49 | soft |
| Memphis · Tennessee | 2.8 | 48 | soft |
| Portland · Oregon | 2.6 | 45 | soft |
| Mobile · Alabama | 2.6 | 44 | soft |
| Montgomery · Alabama | 2.4 | 41 | soft |
| Chesapeake · Virginia | 2.3 | 40 | soft |
| Tacoma · Washington | 1.9 | 33 | soft |
| New York · New York | 1.9 | 32 | soft |
| Charlotte · North Carolina | 1.9 | 32 | soft |
| Worcester · Massachusetts | 1.7 | 30 | soft |
| Oakland · California | 1.6 | 27 | soft |
| Seattle · Washington | 1.5 | 26 | soft |
| Raleigh · North Carolina | 1.5 | 25 | soft |
| Little Rock · Arkansas | 1.3 | 22 | soft |
| Winston-Salem · North Carolina | 1 | 18 | soft |
| Boston · Massachusetts | 0.8 | 13 | soft |