•Responses of soil water and salt dynamics to varied rainfall events and hydrological years were evaluated.•Salt leaching and deep drainage occurred mainly due to summer-concentrated rainfall during wet year.•Salt decrease percentage in the CL was greater than that in the GL in all hydrological years.•One brackish water irrigation application is avail salt leaching both in cropland and grassland. Soil salination challenges sustainable agricultural production and management in the lowland area of the North China Plain (NCP). This study investigated the effect of varied rainfall events and hydrological years on deep drainage and salt leaching in Nanpi County in the NCP. Field experiments were conducted to measure soil matric potential (SMP) and soil water electrical conductivity (ECw) in 300 cm profiles of an irrigated cropland (CL) and unirrigated grassland (GL). The HYDRUS-1D model was calibrated and validated to optimize soil water and salt transport parameters using the SMP and ECw data obtained in 2015 and 2016, respectively. The results showed that the HYDRUS-1D model was reliable to simulate soil water and salt migration in 300 cm profiles at both sites. The salt leaching depths and degrees were positively correlated with precipitation amount. The heavy rain (45 mm) and rainstorm (68 mm) favored salt leaching within 100 cm, and severe and extreme rainstorms resulted in salt leaching within 150–200 cm both in the CL and GL. The SDP in the CL was greater than that in the GL in all hydrological years owing to agricultural cultivation and irrigation. Salt leaching in the 300 cm profiles mainly occurred in the rainy seasons of wet year, with the salt decrease percentage (SDP) being 61% in the CL and 42% in the GL. Salt leaching due to precipitation was sufficient in the irrigated CL in all hydrological years, and precipitation in normal rainfall years could remove 70–80% of soil salts within 50–63 cm soil depth. Grass growth without irrigation led to water deficits and salt accumulation when the annual precipitation amount was less than that in wet years. The results demonstrated that precipitation, combined with irrigation using of brackish and freshwater, could be usefully for soil salt leaching. A recommended irrigation scheme for water saving and salt control in CL and GL is one brackish water irrigation application and three freshwater irrigation applications each year in the NCP.