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Sutter County, California
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 41% of Sutter County's mapped land, a higher share than 87% of US counties and the 5th highest of 54 California counties. A shallow water table limits basements on 37%.
None of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 42 flood losses here since 2016, 0% of them in buildings with basements. 47% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1982.
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 Sutter County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 40.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 36.9% |
| Septic fields very limited | 77.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 6.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 44.8% |
| Mapped soil | 391,634 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Clear Lake | 10% | n/a |
| Capay | 9% | n/a |
| Oswald | 6% | n/a |
| Shanghai | 5% | n/a |
| Conejo | 5% | n/a |
| Nueva | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas CA101 (2025-09-03)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 6.3% by land area here, and 45% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 41% of the mapped land.
On 37% of Sutter County's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 17.86 in, 1.67 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 19.53 in.
USDA rates 77% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought
0% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. No part of the county was in drought in the last 52 weeks.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 0% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
42 flood losses since 2016, $504,293 paid. The worst year was 2017, with 33. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 87% slabs, 3% crawl spaces, 10% elevated.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 33 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 19.53 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 17.86 in (-1.67) |
| 2025 | 16.61 in (-2.92) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1983: 39.01 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1976: 5.94 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at NICOLAUS #2 (11 mi away) | 3.2 |
Homes
| Housing units | 34,798 |
| Median year built | 1982 |
| Built before 1980 | 47% |
| Built 2000 or later | 23% |
| Owner-occupied | 61% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $433,500 |
| Single-family detached | 72% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yuba County, CA | 25 mi | 21% | 5% |
| Yolo County, CA | 27 mi | 44% | 23% |
| Colusa County, CA | 30 mi | 55% | 37% |
| Butte County, CA | 44 mi | 31% | 27% |
| Sacramento County, CA | 45 mi | 16% | 26% |
| Napa County, CA | 50 mi | 14% | 6% |
| Placer County, CA | 53 mi | 7% | 4% |
| Glenn County, CA | 54 mi | 38% | 15% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 3, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status