Sinkhole risk in Worcester 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 1,511 square miles, under one square mile of Worcester County maps onto soluble rock. With about 881,248 residents (583 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 296 map points about 2.3 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 Worcester County

The nearest county rated sinkhole country is Union County, PA, about 280 miles west. 4 of the 6 closest counties land in the same band, so this is a regional pattern rather than a local quirk.

Middlesex County, MA 30 mi northeast · 0% at surface
Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT 32 mi south · 0% at surface
Providence County, RI 36 mi southeast · 0% at surface
Hampshire County, MA 37 mi west · 0% at surface
Hampden County, MA 38 mi west · 0% at surface
Franklin County, MA 38 mi northwest · 0% at surface

Against the rest of Massachusetts

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