Chaffee County, Colorado
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 1% of Chaffee County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 5%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. The soil survey maps 24% of the county's land area; these shares describe the mapped part.
100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 1 flood losses here since 2016. 37% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1993.
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 Chaffee County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 5.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 95.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.6% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.7% |
| Mapped soil | 154,100 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Dominson | 17% | n/a |
| Leadville | 4% | n/a |
| St. Elmo | 4% | n/a |
| San Isabel | 4% | n/a |
| Cotopaxi | 3% | n/a |
| Pierian | 3% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas CO658 (2025-08-29)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 12.44 in, 4.74 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 17.18 in.
USDA rates 95% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on 5% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Chaffee County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
100% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 52 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 29 weeks, most recently on the October 13, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 100% |
| D2 severe or worse | 100% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 100% |
| D4 exceptional | 75.3% |
Flood losses since 2016
1 flood losses since 2016, $0 paid. The worst year was 2021, with 1.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 17.18 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 12.44 in (-4.74) |
| 2025 | 14.86 in (-2.32) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1957: 26.55 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1939: 8.24 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at BUENA VISTA 2S (11 mi away) | 0.3 |
Homes
| Housing units | 11,482 |
| Median year built | 1993 |
| Built before 1980 | 37% |
| Built 2000 or later | 41% |
| Owner-occupied | 74% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $665,700 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, CO | 33 mi | 0% | 15% |
| Park County, CO | 41 mi | 2% | 7% |
| Gunnison County, CO | 41 mi | 9% | 6% |
| Pitkin County, CO | 47 mi | n/a | n/a |
| Saguache County, CO | 49 mi | 4% | 15% |
| Fremont County, CO | 51 mi | 5% | 2% |
| Teller County, CO | 61 mi | 2% | 4% |
| Summit County, CO | 62 mi | 4% | 5% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 29, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status