El Paso County, Colorado
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 6% of El Paso County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 1%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 87.8% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 120 flood losses here since 2016, 67% of them in buildings with basements. 36% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1989.
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 Paso County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 5.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.8% |
| Septic fields very limited | 48.1% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 5.7% |
| Mapped soil | 1,410,563 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Bresser | 12% | n/a |
| Truckton | 9% | n/a |
| Blakeland | 6% | n/a |
| Valent | 5% | n/a |
| Ascalon | 5% | n/a |
| Olney | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas CO625 (2025-08-29), CO640 (2025-08-29)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 11.56 in, 4.71 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 16.27 in.
With shrink-swell clay on 6% and a shallow water table on 1% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of El Paso County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
87.8% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 28 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 16 weeks, most recently on the September 15, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 95.5% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 87.8% |
| D2 severe or worse | 78.1% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 43.8% |
| D4 exceptional | 11.2% |
Flood losses since 2016
120 flood losses since 2016, $456,047 paid. The worst year was 2016, with 27. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 67% basements, 19% slabs, 7% crawl spaces, 7% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 4 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 27 |
| 2017 | 13 |
| 2018 | 19 |
| 2019 | 13 |
| 2020 | 6 |
| 2021 | 4 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2023 | 24 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 7 |
| 2026 to date | 2 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 16.27 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 11.56 in (-4.71) |
| 2025 | 16.96 in (+0.69) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1941: 25.19 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2002: 8.22 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at COLORADO SPRINGS MUNI AP (9 mi away) | 2.3 |
Homes
| Housing units | 303,482 |
| Median year built | 1989 |
| Built before 1980 | 36% |
| Built 2000 or later | 34% |
| Owner-occupied | 66% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $461,000 |
| Single-family detached | 67% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teller County, CO | 36 mi | 2% | 4% |
| Elbert County, CO | 40 mi | 11% | 2% |
| Douglas County, CO | 41 mi | 3% | 2% |
| Pueblo County, CO | 46 mi | 17% | 2% |
| Crowley County, CO | 54 mi | 46% | 1% |
| Fremont County, CO | 55 mi | 5% | 2% |
| Lincoln County, CO | 56 mi | 17% | 2% |
| Arapahoe County, CO | 57 mi | 22% | 1% |
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