There is an issue of groundwater overexploitation in Ningjiang District, Songyuan City, Jilin Province, which has led to land subsidence. To investigate the influence of hydrological elements on surface deformation in Ningjiang District, surface deformation data were obtained by the small baseline subset interferometry synthetic aperture radar (SBAS-InSAR) technique. Initially, Sentinel-1B data were utilized to observe surface deformation in Ningjiang District from 2017 to 2021 with SBAS-InSAR. Subsequently, the geographical detector was employed to quantitatively assess the relationship between land subsidence and its influencing factors. Furthermore, multivariate singular spectrum analysis (M-SSA) was employed to identify periodic fluctuations in surface deformation and groundwater level, revealing the temporal lag between f luctuations in surface deformation and groundwater level. The findings demonstrate that the distance to water bodies accounts for the largest share of subsidence variation, with subsidence shaped by the combined impact of many factors. The results of interaction detection indicate that the interplay between the distance to water bodies and precipitation exhibits the most significant joint explanatory capacity for surface deformation. The observed seasonal cyclical fluctuations in groundwater level and surface deformation indicate a substantial influence of groundwater on surface deformation in the Ningjiang District.