Butts County, Georgia
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on under 1% of Butts County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 13%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 63.7% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map, down from 84.3% a week earlier.
FEMA's flood data list 25 flood losses here since 2016, 5% of them in buildings with basements. 28% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1994.
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 Butts County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | under 0.1% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 13.4% |
| Septic fields very limited | 22.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.7% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.1% |
| Mapped soil | 121,400 acres |
How we count · survey areas GA035 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 36.25 in, 12.48 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 48.73 in.
With shrink-swell clay on under 1% and a shallow water table on 13% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Butts County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
63.7% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 43 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 32 weeks, most recently on the May 26, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 63.7% |
| D2 severe or worse | 21.4% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
25 flood losses since 2016, $1.2 million paid. The worst year was 2024, with 19. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 5% basements, 19% slabs, 43% crawl spaces, 33% elevated.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 19 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 48.73 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 36.25 in (-12.48) |
| 2025 | 50.51 in (+1.78) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1929: 75.61 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1954: 29.24 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at MONTICELLO (15 mi away) | 14.5 |
Homes
| Housing units | 9,723 |
| Median year built | 1994 |
| Built before 1980 | 28% |
| Built 2000 or later | 36% |
| Owner-occupied | 74% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $240,600 |
| Single-family detached | 82% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper County, GA | 16 mi | 3% | 10% |
| Henry County, GA | 16 mi | 0% | 9% |
| Lamar County, GA | 18 mi | under 1% | 12% |
| Monroe County, GA | 19 mi | 2% | 14% |
| Spalding County, GA | 19 mi | 3% | 17% |
| Newton County, GA | 19 mi | 0% | 12% |
| Rockdale County, GA | 25 mi | 0% | 9% |
| Pike County, GA | 29 mi | 0% | 15% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 2, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status