HomeCaliforniaEl Dorado County
El Dorado County, California
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 1% of El Dorado County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 2%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 3.2% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 64 flood losses here since 2016, 8% of them in buildings with basements. 45% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1983.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
in drought, October 13, 2026
of homes built before 1980
Soil under El Dorado County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 1.6% |
| Septic fields very limited | 83.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.4% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.9% |
| Mapped soil | 1,141,530 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Auburn | 8% | n/a |
| Mariposa | 7% | n/a |
| McCarthy | 5% | n/a |
| Josephine | 4% | n/a |
| Cohasset | 4% | n/a |
| Chaix | 3% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas CA624 (2025-09-02), CA693 (2025-09-02), CA724 (2025-09-02), CA729 (2025-09-08)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 45.03 in, 0.35 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 45.38 in.
USDA rates 83% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on 2% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of El Dorado County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
3.2% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 13 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 51.2% of its area, on the April 7, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 3.2% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
64 flood losses since 2016, $2.1 million paid. The worst year was 2017, with 25. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 8% basements, 53% slabs, 25% crawl spaces, 14% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 6 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 25 |
| 2018 | 5 |
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 10 |
| 2023 | 12 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 1 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 45.38 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 45.03 in (-0.35) |
| 2025 | 46.54 in (+1.16) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1983: 82.62 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1976: 15.24 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at PACIFIC HOUSE (3 mi away) | 19.8 |
Homes
| Housing units | 94,653 |
| Median year built | 1983 |
| Built before 1980 | 45% |
| Built 2000 or later | 23% |
| Owner-occupied | 77% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $679,900 |
| Single-family detached | 81% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Placer County, CA | 22 mi | 7% | 4% |
| Amador County, CA | 24 mi | 1% | 3% |
| Nevada County, CA | 38 mi | 2% | 1% |
| Alpine County, CA | 39 mi | 2% | 7% |
| Calaveras County, CA | 41 mi | 2% | 2% |
| Carson City, NV | 49 mi | 11% | 5% |
| Sacramento County, CA | 49 mi | 16% | 26% |
| Douglas County, NV | 50 mi | 20% | 9% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 8, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status