Sinkhole risk in Suffolk County, MA: No soluble rock mapped

No soluble rock mapped

No soluble bedrock mapped.

On soluble rock: 0%
At or near the surface: 0%
Buried under cover: 0%

The next step for one property

No soluble bedrock is mapped here, so natural sinkholes are unlikely. Collapses from broken pipes or old mines are a separate risk.

Across 58 square miles, under one square mile of Suffolk County maps onto soluble rock. With about 793,144 residents (13,615 per square mile), most of the county is built up, so a mapped unit is likely to sit under somebody's street. The figures come from 483 map points about 0.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: how these percentages are measured, and the warning signs that apply anywhere.

Counties around Suffolk County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 326 miles west. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Norfolk County, MA 14 mi southwest · 0% at surface
Middlesex County, MA 22 mi northwest · 0% at surface
Essex County, MA 22 mi north · 0% at surface
Plymouth County, MA 28 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Bristol County, MA 41 mi south · 0% at surface
Providence County, RI 43 mi southwest · 0% at surface

Against the rest of Massachusetts

Suffolk County ranks 13 of 14 in Massachusetts for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.