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Henderson County, North Carolina
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on under 1% of Henderson County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 10%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 7.6% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map, down from 19.5% a week earlier.
FEMA's flood data list 289 flood losses here since 2016, 8% of them in buildings with basements. 35% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1990.
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 Henderson County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.3% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 9.9% |
| Septic fields very limited | 92.9% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.3% |
| Mapped soil | 239,936 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Hayesville | 16% | 0% |
| Evard | 16% | 0% |
| Ashe | 16% | n/a |
| Edneytown | 15% | n/a |
| Tusquitee | 5% | n/a |
| Arkaqua | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas NC089 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 41.72 in, 17.75 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 59.47 in.
USDA rates 93% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on under 1% and a shallow water table on 10% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Henderson County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
7.6% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 45 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 30 weeks, most recently on the July 21, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 22.3% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 7.6% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
289 flood losses since 2016, $28.0 million paid. The worst year was 2024, with 217. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 8% basements, 32% slabs, 29% crawl spaces, 31% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 30 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 7 |
| 2018 | 26 |
| 2019 | 10 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 12 |
| 2022 | 3 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 217 |
| 2025 | 2 |
| 2026 to date | 1 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 59.47 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 41.72 in (-17.75) |
| 2025 | 46.01 in (-13.46) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1901: 89.12 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1925: 35.02 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at HENDERSONVILLE 1 NE (2 mi away) | 17.8 |
Homes
| Housing units | 58,044 |
| Median year built | 1990 |
| Built before 1980 | 35% |
| Built 2000 or later | 32% |
| Owner-occupied | 75% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $351,400 |
| Single-family detached | 69% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County, NC | 18 mi | under 1% | 6% |
| Buncombe County, NC | 19 mi | 0% | 4% |
| Transylvania County, NC | 21 mi | 0% | 6% |
| Greenville County, SC | 31 mi | under 1% | 11% |
| Rutherford County, NC | 32 mi | under 1% | 8% |
| Haywood County, NC | 32 mi | 1% | 2% |
| McDowell County, NC | 34 mi | 0% | 5% |
| Pickens County, SC | 34 mi | under 1% | 7% |
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