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Alamance County, North Carolina
A shallow water table limits basements on 24% of Alamance County's mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 20%.
97.3% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 81 flood losses here since 2016, 12% of them in buildings with basements. 42% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1988.
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 Alamance County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 20.5% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 23.6% |
| Septic fields very limited | 64.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.0% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 21.2% |
| Urban land, not rated | 2.2% |
| Mapped soil | 278,419 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Cullen | 33% | n/a |
| Enon | 16% | n/a |
| Helena | 14% | n/a |
| Vance | 10% | n/a |
| Chewacla | 3% | n/a |
| Cecil | 3% | 0% |
How we count · survey areas NC001 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.0% by land area here, and 21% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 20% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 97.3% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 20% of Alamance County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
On 24% of Alamance 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: 30.48 in, 14.92 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 45.40 in.
USDA rates 64% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought
97.3% 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 40 weeks, most recently on the August 4, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 97.3% |
| D2 severe or worse | 27.5% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
81 flood losses since 2016, $3.9 million paid. The worst year was 2025, with 53. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 12% basements, 12% slabs, 53% crawl spaces, 23% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 29 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 7 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 11 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 4 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 53 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 45.40 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 30.48 in (-14.92) |
| 2025 | 49.11 in (+3.71) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2018: 66.44 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1941: 29.70 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at GRAHAM 2 ENE (2 mi away) | 13.1 |
Homes
| Housing units | 77,073 |
| Median year built | 1988 |
| Built before 1980 | 42% |
| Built 2000 or later | 32% |
| Owner-occupied | 65% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $241,500 |
| Single-family detached | 66% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, NC | 16 mi | 16% | 20% |
| Guilford County, NC | 22 mi | 35% | 9% |
| Caswell County, NC | 25 mi | 35% | 21% |
| Chatham County, NC | 25 mi | 14% | 44% |
| Durham County, NC | 29 mi | 43% | 56% |
| Rockingham County, NC | 32 mi | 2% | 9% |
| Randolph County, NC | 32 mi | 14% | 13% |
| Person County, NC | 34 mi | 18% | 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