Sinkhole risk in Tioga County, NY: No soluble rock mapped

What this means before you buy

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

Across 519 square miles, under one square mile of Tioga County maps onto soluble rock. With about 47,574 residents (92 per square mile), homes are spread across towns and farmland, and a mapped unit may or may not reach the developed parts. The figures come from 294 map points about 1.3 miles apart, so a pocket smaller than that can be missed or overstated.

Two things to read before deciding: why gypsum and salt move faster than limestone, and how these percentages are measured.

Counties around Tioga County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 93 miles southwest. 5 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

• Tompkins County, NY 21 mi northwest · 0% at surface
• Chemung County, NY 23 mi west · 0% at surface
• Broome County, NY 24 mi east · 0% at surface
• Bradford County, PA 29 mi south · 0% at surface
• Cortland County, NY 31 mi north · 0% at surface
• Susquehanna County, PA 36 mi southeast · 0% at surface

Against the rest of New York

Tioga County ranks 54 of 62 in New York for soluble rock at the surface, and sits above 0% of US counties on that measure.

• New York County under 1%
• St. Lawrence County under 1%
• Saratoga County under 1%
• Cayuga County under 1%
• Clinton County under 1%