Well water hardness in North Carolina
Across 26 counties of North Carolina, the median well sampled by the USGS has 4.2 gpg of hardness. Counties range from 0.3 gpg (Buncombe County) to 14.3 gpg (New Hanover County).
Millions of American households drink water from their own well. No utility tests that water and no water quality report covers it. These pages summarise the hardness the U.S. Geological Survey measured in wells county by county, so you know what to expect before you test your own well.
Counties, hardest first
| gpg | mg/L | wells | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hanover County | 14.3 | 244 | 98 | very hard |
| Beaufort County | 12.2 | 210 | 17 | very hard |
| Craven County | 11.6 | 199 | 57 | very hard |
| Pender County | 10.9 | 187 | 18 | very hard |
| Carteret County | 10.7 | 183 | 12 | very hard |
| Onslow County | 10 | 172 | 32 | hard |
| Brunswick County | 9.7 | 166 | 55 | hard |
| Lee County | 6.3 | 107 | 53 | moderately hard |
| Pitt County | 5.2 | 89 | 34 | moderately hard |
| Chatham County | 5 | 86 | 12 | moderately hard |
| Orange County | 4.5 | 77 | 59 | moderately hard |
| Randolph County | 4.4 | 75 | 14 | moderately hard |
| Guilford County | 4.4 | 75 | 34 | moderately hard |
| Edgecombe County | 4 | 68 | 22 | moderately hard |
| Rockingham County | 4 | 68 | 19 | moderately hard |
| Sampson County | 3.6 | 61 | 30 | moderately hard |
| Wake County | 3.5 | 60 | 43 | moderately hard |
| Greene County | 3.1 | 53 | 79 | soft |
| Mecklenburg County | 2.6 | 44 | 93 | soft |
| Johnston County | 2.5 | 43 | 10 | soft |
| Wayne County | 2.3 | 40 | 39 | soft |
| Duplin County | 2.3 | 39 | 14 | soft |
| Lincoln County | 1.9 | 33 | 18 | soft |
| Iredell County | 1.6 | 28 | 23 | soft |
| Tyrrell County | 0.9 | 15 | 10 | soft |
| Buncombe County | 0.3 | 5 | 17 | soft |
Counties with fewer than 10 sampled wells, or a median outside 5–500 mg/L, are not shown until the figure is reviewed.
North Carolina: tap water hardness by city → · Well water hardness by state and county →