How hard is the water in Howard County, MO?
34.3 grains per gallon
A softener will pay its way here.
The median hardness measured in Howard County, MO is 588 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 34.3 gpg. That is very hard on the USGS scale. It comes from 2 samples at 1 sites between 2022 and 2023, drawn from every sampling site in the county, wells and surface water together.
How much it varies here
Half the sites came in between 34.3 and 34.3 gpg. The whole middle of that range gives the same answer, so a test of your own tap is unlikely to change it. Confidence in the county figure: low (how it is measured).
What to do next
At 34.3 gpg a softener pays its way here. Before you buy, check the quoted unit's grain capacity against the sizing table below, and ask whether it regenerates on demand, which uses less salt than a timer. Call your utility for its own report if you are on city water.
More on sizing a softener for your household.
What a softener would cost to run
For a household of 3, a 48,000-grain unit covers a week between regenerations. Expect about 750 lb of salt a year (19 bags of 40 lb, about $135), and roughly 2,346 gallons of regeneration water. Installed, most units run $1,000 to $4,500; spread over 15 years with salt, that is about $235 a year.
Sizing at 34.3 gpg
| People | Grains a day | Unit | Salt a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,058 | 24,000 | 250 lb |
| 2 | 4,116 | 32,000 | 501 lb |
| 4 | 8,232 | 64,000 | 1,002 lb |
| 6 | 12,348 | twin tank | 1,502 lb |
Howard County against the rest of Missouri
Among the 110 Missouri counties with data, Howard County is number 4 of 110 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 96% of counties.
Softest in Missouri: Livingston County at 4.1 gpg. Hardest: Reynolds County at 96.7 gpg. Closest to Howard County: St. Francois County (35.2), Clay County (31), Jackson County (26.9).