Jasper County, Missouri
A shallow water table limits basements on 48% of Jasper County's mapped land, a higher share than 64% of US counties. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 35%.
100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 54 flood losses here since 2016, 21% of them in buildings with basements. 45% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1986.
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 Jasper County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 34.6% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 47.6% |
| Septic fields very limited | 81.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 5.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 55.8% |
| Mapped soil | 410,393 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Maplegrove | 19% | n/a |
| Eldorado | 12% | n/a |
| Rueter | 11% | n/a |
| Newtonia | 10% | n/a |
| Opolis | 5% | n/a |
| Verdigris | 5% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas MO097 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 5.5% by land area here, and 56% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 35% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 35% of Jasper County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
On 48% of Jasper County's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 38.89 in, 6.61 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 45.50 in.
USDA rates 81% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
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 35 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 19 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 | 89.4% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 64.4% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
54 flood losses since 2016, $1.5 million paid. The worst year was 2019, with 21. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 21% basements, 45% slabs, 31% crawl spaces, 3% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 15.5 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 19 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 21 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 10 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 45.50 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 38.89 in (-6.61) |
| 2025 | 38.19 in (-7.31) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1985: 62.78 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1963: 22.82 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at JOPLIN REGIONAL AIRPORT (10 mi away) | 13.7 |
Homes
| Housing units | 54,480 |
| Median year built | 1986 |
| Built before 1980 | 45% |
| Built 2000 or later | 32% |
| Owner-occupied | 63% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $166,900 |
| Single-family detached | 75% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barton County, MO | 20 mi | 54% | 69% |
| Newton County, MO | 21 mi | 6% | 65% |
| Cherokee County, KS | 28 mi | 52% | 80% |
| Lawrence County, MO | 29 mi | 8% | 68% |
| Dade County, MO | 31 mi | 17% | 45% |
| Crawford County, KS | 35 mi | 67% | 79% |
| Ottawa County, OK | 36 mi | 31% | 51% |
| McDonald County, MO | 40 mi | 2% | 29% |
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