Where to Get Your Soil Tested, State by State (Without Overpaying)
You are about to drop $35 on a mail-in soil test kit. Before you do, here is the thing the kit companies would rather you not know: your state’s land-grant university almost certainly runs the same test for somewhere between free and $15, and it is calibrated for the soils and grasses in your actual region.
In a hurry? Jump to the quick answer ↓
A soil test is the cheapest move with the biggest payoff for a lawn. It tells you your pH and what nutrients you actually need, which means you stop guessing and stop buying fertilizer and lime your soil does not want. The catch is that the convenient option (SoilKit, MySoil, RX Soil, the boxes you see advertised online) runs $30 to $35, and it is not the cheapest credible option. It is just the most heavily marketed one.
Start With Your State Lab
Every state has a land-grant university with a cooperative extension service, and most of them run a soil testing lab built specifically for homeowners. You drop a cup of dry soil at your county extension office, they ship it to the state lab, and a week or two later you get back pH, the major nutrients, and a lime and fertilizer recommendation written for your region. Most county offices hand you the sample box and the mailer for free.
The reason this matters beyond the price: a lab in your state interprets the result against local soils and the grasses people actually grow there. A generic mail-in kit gives you numbers. Your extension lab gives you numbers plus a recommendation that fits your dirt.
The Best Deals in the Country
If you live in one of these states, there is no reason to pay for a mail-in kit:
- West Virginia: free for any WV resident.
- Arkansas: free for in-state residents (funded by fertilizer fees since 1953).
- North Carolina: free April through November, $5 the rest of the year. The best year-round deal anywhere.
- South Carolina: $6 at Clemson, the cheapest non-free test in the country.
- Georgia: $8 at UGA.
- Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas: all $10 to $12.
- Kentucky: many counties subsidize it to free or near-free. Ask your county office.
Find Your State
The full directory. The lab name links to the official page. When two land-grant labs exist in a state, this lists the one extension routes homeowner samples to.
| State | Where to send it | Basic test price | How to submit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Auburn Univ. Soil, Forage & Water Testing Lab | $10 | Any of 67 county Extension offices, or mail to Auburn |
| Alaska | No state lab (UAF routes to private labs) | ~$20 | UAF Extension refers to Brookside Labs; agents interpret free |
| Arizona | Univ. of Arizona (private-lab referral) | $15–30 | UA lists private labs (Motzz, IAS); no in-house homeowner test |
| Arkansas | Univ. of Arkansas Soil Testing Lab | FREE (AR residents) | Drop at any county Extension office |
| California | No statewide homeowner lab | ~$20–35 | Master Gardener offices refer A&L Western, Wallace, Soil & Plant Lab |
| Colorado | CSU Soil, Water & Plant Testing Lab | $35 (S1) | Mail to lab or via county Extension. Also serves New Mexico |
| Connecticut | UConn Soil Nutrient Analysis Lab | $15 | Mail with check, or drop at UConn Extension. Free lead screen |
| Delaware | Univ. of Delaware Soil Testing Program | ~$15 (FREE via Livable Lawns) | Drop at UD Extension or mail to Newark |
| Florida | UF/IFAS Extension Soil Testing Lab | $10 (Test B) | County UF/IFAS office or mail to Gainesville |
| Georgia | UGA Agricultural & Environmental Services Labs | $8 (S1) | Drop at county UGA Extension office |
| Hawaii | UH-Manoa Ag Diagnostic Service Center | ~$20–30 | Through CTAHR county Extension. pH-only is $6 |
| Idaho | Univ. of Idaho Analytical Sciences Lab | $50 | Kit at county office, mail with payment (pricey, many use UMass) |
| Illinois | No in-state lab (referral list) | ~$15–25 | UI Extension refers A&L Great Lakes, Brookside, Midwest |
| Indiana | Purdue Extension (contracted labs) | $15–25 | Drop at Purdue Extension county office |
| Iowa | Use Univ. of Minnesota lab | $20 | ISU closed its lab in 2017; mail to UMN |
| Kansas | Kansas State Soil Testing Lab | $12.50 (Pkg #1) | K-State county office (Johnson Co. free for residents) |
| Kentucky | Univ. of Kentucky Regulatory Services | Often free/low via county | Drop at county UK Extension office |
| Louisiana | LSU AgCenter Soil Testing Lab | $10 | Parish AgCenter Extension office, or mail |
| Maine | Univ. of Maine Analytical Lab | $20 | Mail to UMaine or drop at county Extension |
| Maryland | No in-house lab (recommends Penn State) | $10 (Penn State) | UMD closed its lab; Penn State $10 is cheapest approved |
| Massachusetts | UMass Amherst Soil & Plant Nutrient Lab | $20 | Mail to UMass with check |
| Michigan | MSU Home Lawn & Garden Soil Test Mailer | $26 (incl. shipping) | Buy mailer at MSU Extension or bookstore online |
| Minnesota | Univ. of Minnesota Soil Testing Lab | $20 (Regular) | Mail to UMN St. Paul. Also serves Iowa |
| Mississippi | Mississippi State Extension Soil Testing Lab | $10 | Drop at MSU county Extension (free shipping) |
| Missouri | Univ. of Missouri Soil & Plant Testing Lab | $15 | MU Extension county office or mail to Columbia |
| Montana | No in-house lab | $30 | MSU county office; counties contract Midwest Labs/AgVise |
| Nebraska | No in-house lab | ~$25 | Nebraska Extension county office; mail to Ward/Midwest |
| Nevada | Univ. of Nevada Reno Core Analytical Lab | Verify with lab | Contact UNR Extension (Knudtsen Center) |
| New Hampshire | UNH Extension Soil Testing Lab | $25 | Mail to UNH or drop at county Extension |
| New Jersey | Rutgers Cooperative Extension Soil Testing Lab | $20 | Kit at Rutgers county office, or mail to New Brunswick |
| New Mexico | Use Colorado State Univ. lab | $35 (CSU S1) | NMSU closed its lab; mail to CSU Fort Collins |
| New York | Cornell Cooperative Extension / Dairy One | $17 | Drop at county CCE; forwards to Dairy One |
| North Carolina | NCDA&CS Agronomic Services Soil Lab | FREE Apr–Nov, $5 peak | NCDA&CS boxes from county NC State Extension |
| North Dakota | NDSU Soil Testing Lab | Verify with lab | NDSU county office or mail to Fargo |
| Ohio | OSU Extension (uses Penn State / A&L) | $9–25 by county | Drop at OSU Extension county office |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma State SWFAL | ~$10 | Drop at OSU Extension county office |
| Oregon | OSU Soil Health Lab / county partners | $15 | OSU Extension county office or mail to Corvallis |
| Pennsylvania | Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Lab | $10 | Kit at county Extension/garden center; mail to Univ. Park |
| Rhode Island | URI Cooperative Extension | FREE pH-only | URI Master Gardener events; full panel to UConn/UMass |
| South Carolina | Clemson Agricultural Service Laboratory | $6 | Drop at Clemson Extension county office, or mail |
| South Dakota | No in-state lab | ~$15–25 | SDSU refers Ward Labs / AgVise |
| Tennessee | UT Soil, Plant and Pest Center | $15 | UT Extension county office or Nashville lab |
| Texas | Texas A&M AgriLife Soil, Water & Forage Lab | $12 (Urban/Homeowner) | AgriLife county office or mail (use Urban form) |
| Utah | Utah State USUAL Analytical Lab | $25 | Mail to USU Logan, or drop at USU Extension |
| Vermont | UVM Agricultural & Environmental Testing Lab | $17 | Mail to UVM Burlington; kits at Extension offices |
| Virginia | Virginia Tech Soil Testing Lab | $10 | Drop at VCE county/city office (free kits + shipping) |
| Washington | No in-state lab | $17–30 | WSU refers U of Idaho and UMass |
| West Virginia | WVU Soil Testing Lab | FREE (WV residents) | Drop at WVU Extension county office, or mail |
| Wisconsin | UW-Madison Soil & Forage Lab | $15 | Request kit; mail to Madison or drop at Extension |
| Wyoming | No in-house lab | $20–35 | UW Extension county office; mail to Ward/CSU |
No Lab in Your State? Mail to Penn State
About a dozen states (California, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, South Dakota, Washington, Wyoming, plus Arizona and Alaska) do not run a public homeowner soil lab. The cheapest credible workaround is Penn State’s Agricultural Analytical Services Lab at $10 by mail. Several states officially recommend it for non-residents. Florida’s UF/IFAS lab ($10) is another mail-friendly option for southern soils.
When a Mail-In Kit Actually Makes Sense
There is a narrow case for the paid kits. If your state has no lab, you would rather not drive to the extension office, and you want results in a phone app instead of a mailed PDF, a kit like SoilKit (about $30) or MySoil (about $35) is a legitimate convenience buy. Just go in knowing you are paying for the convenience, not for a better test. The extension lab result is every bit as good and usually better interpreted for your region.
If you want the convenience option, SoilKit (soilkit.com) and MySoil (mysoiltesting.com) are the two I would point you to. They are not the frugal pick, and I will not pretend otherwise, but they work and the app is genuinely nice.
Quick Reference
- Your state land-grant lab does a soil test for free to $15 in most states. The advertised mail-in kits cost $30 to $35.
- Drop a cup of dry soil at your county extension office. They usually supply the box and shipping free.
- Best deals: WV, AR, NC free; SC $6; GA $8; FL/LA/MS/AL/PA/VA/TX $10–12.
- No lab in your state? Mail to Penn State for $10.
- Paid kits (SoilKit, MySoil) are a convenience buy, not the cheap option. Worth it only if you want the app and have no local lab.
- Confirm the lab’s current price before mailing a check. Most adjust fees in January through April.
- Once your results come back, here is how to read a soil test so the numbers actually mean something.
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