Well water hardness in Virginia
Across 26 counties of Virginia, the median well sampled by the USGS has 3.6 gpg of hardness. Counties range from 0.5 gpg (King William County) to 20.2 gpg (Clarke 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 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarke County | 20.2 | 346 | 14 | very hard |
| Rockingham County | 13.4 | 229 | 48 | very hard |
| York County | 10.6 | 182 | 56 | very hard |
| Virginia Beach City | 10 | 171 | 87 | hard |
| Fauquier County | 9.9 | 169 | 12 | hard |
| Sussex County | 8.2 | 141 | 21 | hard |
| Northampton County | 8.1 | 139 | 79 | hard |
| Wise County | 7.8 | 133 | 17 | hard |
| Prince William County | 7.5 | 128 | 117 | hard |
| Loudoun County | 7.1 | 122 | 24 | hard |
| Accomack County | 5.8 | 99 | 55 | moderately hard |
| Buchanan County | 4.2 | 72 | 83 | moderately hard |
| Hanover County | 3.7 | 63 | 10 | moderately hard |
| Chesapeake City | 3.4 | 59 | 33 | soft |
| Newport News City | 2.9 | 49 | 14 | soft |
| James City County | 2.8 | 48 | 39 | soft |
| Fairfax County | 2.5 | 43 | 16 | soft |
| Southampton County | 2.4 | 41 | 13 | soft |
| King George County | 1.8 | 32 | 63 | soft |
| Chesterfield County | 1.3 | 23 | 20 | soft |
| Gloucester County | 1.2 | 21 | 11 | soft |
| Caroline County | 1.2 | 20 | 27 | soft |
| Suffolk City | 0.8 | 14 | 31 | soft |
| New Kent County | 0.6 | 11 | 19 | soft |
| Northumberland County | 0.6 | 11 | 14 | soft |
| King William County | 0.5 | 8 | 10 | soft |
Counties with fewer than 10 sampled wells, or a median outside 5–500 mg/L, are not shown until the figure is reviewed.
Virginia: tap water hardness by city → · Well water hardness by state and county →