Fayette County, Georgia
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 0% of Fayette County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 12%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 12% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map, down from 73.2% a week earlier.
FEMA's flood data list 51 flood losses here since 2016, 4% of them in buildings with basements. 18% 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 Fayette County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 12.2% |
| Septic fields very limited | 17.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.8% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.0% |
| Mapped soil | 127,700 acres |
How we count · survey areas GA625 (2025-09-05)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 37.95 in, 13.42 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 51.37 in.
With shrink-swell clay on 0% and a shallow water table on 12% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Fayette County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
12% 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 35 weeks, most recently on the June 16, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 12% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
51 flood losses since 2016, $665,046 paid. The worst year was 2024, with 11. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 4% basements, 39% slabs, 29% crawl spaces, 29% elevated.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 9 |
| 2018 | 3 |
| 2019 | 10 |
| 2020 | 5 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 6 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 11 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 to date | 1 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 51.37 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 37.95 in (-13.42) |
| 2025 | 45.52 in (-5.85) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1929: 72.85 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1954: 31.07 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at JONESBORO (11 mi away) | 15.1 |
Homes
| Housing units | 46,453 |
| Median year built | 1993 |
| Built before 1980 | 18% |
| Built 2000 or later | 33% |
| Owner-occupied | 80% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $436,400 |
| Single-family detached | 83% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clayton County, GA | 11 mi | 0% | 12% |
| Spalding County, GA | 16 mi | 3% | 17% |
| Coweta County, GA | 16 mi | 0% | 14% |
| Henry County, GA | 20 mi | 0% | 9% |
| Pike County, GA | 24 mi | 0% | 15% |
| Douglas County, GA | 25 mi | under 1% | 10% |
| Fulton County, GA | 26 mi | under 1% | 11% |
| Meriwether County, GA | 28 mi | under 1% | 15% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 5, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status