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Madison County, North Carolina
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 0% of Madison County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 2%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 0.1% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 45 flood losses here since 2016, 34% of them in buildings with basements. 39% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1987.
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 Madison County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 2.3% |
| Septic fields very limited | 95.9% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.4% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.0% |
| Mapped soil | 288,838 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Buladean | 12% | n/a |
| Chestnut | 10% | n/a |
| Evard | 6% | 0% |
| Toecane | 5% | n/a |
| Sylco | 5% | n/a |
| Walnut | 5% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas NC115 (2025-08-27)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 41.65 in, 6.91 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 48.56 in.
USDA rates 96% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 0% and a shallow water table on 2% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Madison County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
0.1% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 46 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 25 weeks, most recently on the June 23, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 0.1% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
45 flood losses since 2016, $7.9 million paid. The worst year was 2024, with 41. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 34% basements, 18% slabs, 23% crawl spaces, 25% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 87 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 41 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 48.56 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 41.65 in (-6.91) |
| 2025 | 42.02 in (-6.54) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2013: 66.54 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1925: 30.20 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at MARSHALL (5 mi away) | 8.1 |
Homes
| Housing units | 11,356 |
| Median year built | 1987 |
| Built before 1980 | 39% |
| Built 2000 or later | 30% |
| Owner-occupied | 78% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $284,600 |
| Single-family detached | 72% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buncombe County, NC | 21 mi | 0% | 4% |
| Greene County, TN | 23 mi | 2% | 20% |
| Cocke County, TN | 23 mi | 1% | 6% |
| Yancey County, NC | 23 mi | 0% | 3% |
| Unicoi County, TN | 23 mi | 0% | 1% |
| Haywood County, NC | 26 mi | 1% | 2% |
| Washington County, TN | 32 mi | 1% | 10% |
| Mitchell County, NC | 32 mi | under 1% | 2% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 27, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status