Mesa County, Colorado
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 13% of Mesa County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 1%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. The soil survey maps 73% of the county's land area; these shares describe the mapped part.
97% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map, down from 100% a week earlier. FEMA's flood data list 3 flood losses here since 2016. 40% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1987.
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 Mesa County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 13.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.9% |
| Septic fields very limited | 72.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.4% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 10.5% |
| Mapped soil | 1,561,477 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Persayo | 3% | n/a |
| Killpack | 3% | n/a |
| Gladel | 2% | n/a |
| Sagers | 2% | n/a |
| Biedsaw | 2% | n/a |
| Hesperus | 1% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas CO680 (2025-09-08), CO682 (2025-09-08), CO683 (2025-08-29)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 12.70 in, 4.03 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 16.73 in.
USDA rates 73% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 13% and a shallow water table on 1% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Mesa County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
97% 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 31 weeks, most recently on the October 6, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 97% |
| D2 severe or worse | 83.1% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 47.8% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
3 flood losses since 2016, $11,413 paid. The worst year was 2023, with 1.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 16.73 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 12.70 in (-4.03) |
| 2025 | 11.56 in (-5.17) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1957: 28.38 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1900: 8.79 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at PALISADE (8 mi away) | 0.2 |
Homes
| Housing units | 69,969 |
| Median year built | 1987 |
| Built before 1980 | 40% |
| Built 2000 or later | 30% |
| Owner-occupied | 73% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $378,600 |
| Single-family detached | 71% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta County, CO | 33 mi | 12% | 3% |
| Montrose County, CO | 43 mi | 22% | 5% |
| Garfield County, CO | 49 mi | 5% | 1% |
| Grand County, UT | 61 mi | 4% | under 1% |
| Rio Blanco County, CO | 67 mi | 8% | 1% |
| Ouray County, CO | 69 mi | 19% | 6% |
| San Miguel County, CO | 70 mi | 3% | 1% |
| Gunnison County, CO | 78 mi | 9% | 6% |
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