Widespread pollution of ground and surface waters from nitrate (NO₃^-) contamination is of global concern to both public health and the environment. Thus, quantifying the attenuation potential of nitrate in the sub-surface is very important. Denitrification rates have been found to vary significantly both spatially and temporally depending on the characteristics of the soil. A clear understanding of the ranges of denitrification rates that can be expected in soils with different characteristics would be very useful for determining the probability of adverse effects from NO₃^- contamination of the water supply. The intent of this study was to develop a simplified approach for predicting nitrate attenuation in the sub-surface based on easily measurable soil characteristics and/or soil properties reported on soil surveys. This work was accomplished by compiling and summarizing denitrification rates reported in the literature, where different soil characteristics were included; and by performing multivariate statistical analysis to determine significant correlations between variables. Denitrification rates and soil characteristics from 600 unique soil experiments from 40 different sources were collected and analyzed. Cumulative frequency diagrams (CFD) proved useful for quantifying the variations in denitrification rates among soil types, while principal component analyses helped determine the most important controlling soil characteristics. The statistical analysis of the different soil characteristics showed a strong correlation between water filled porosity (WFP) and soil organic carbon (OC), providing the NO₃^- concentration was not the limiting factor. Additionally, three principal groups were identified that coincided with soil textural classes. Typically, the highest rates occur in soils with < 50% sand and < 50% silt, and in soils with a bulk density of 1.32 g cm^-3. These findings suggest that attenuation of nitrate can be predicted based on specific soil properties.