How hard is the water in Newton County, MS?

2.2 grains per gallon

You do not need a softener here.

The median hardness measured in Newton County, MS is 37 mg/L as calcium carbonate, which is 2.2 gpg. That is soft on the USGS scale. It comes from 4 samples at 4 sites between 1990 and 2014, drawn from every sampling site in the county, wells and surface water together.

How much it varies here

Half the sites came in between 1.2 and 3.6 gpg. That spread crosses a decision line, so some homes here land on a different answer. A $10 test strip on your own tap settles it. Confidence in the county figure: low (how it is measured).

What to do next

You can skip the softener. At 2.2 gpg the most a softener would fix is the odd water spot. If a salesperson in Newton County says otherwise, ask to see their reading in grains per gallon and compare it with this one. Because Newton County straddles a decision line, check your own tap with a $10 test strip before you spend anything.

More on when a softener is not worth it.

Newton County against the rest of Mississippi

Among the 78 Mississippi counties with data, Newton County is number 28 of 78 counting from the hardest. Across the whole country it is harder than 17% of counties.

Softest in Mississippi: Issaquena County at 0.1 gpg. Hardest: Franklin County at 60.5 gpg. Closest to Newton County: Attala County (2.2), Humphreys County (2.3), Hinds County (2).