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Polk County, North Carolina
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on under 1% of Polk County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 6%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. None of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 61 flood losses here since 2016, 7% of them in buildings with basements. 45% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1984.
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 Polk County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | under 0.1% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 6.4% |
| Septic fields very limited | 74.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.6% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | under 0.1% |
| Mapped soil | 152,928 acres |
How we count · survey areas NC149 (2025-08-27)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 41.55 in, 15.61 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 57.16 in.
USDA rates 74% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on under 1% and a shallow water table on 6% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Polk County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
0% 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 34 weeks, most recently on the August 4, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 0% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 0% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
61 flood losses since 2016, $4.3 million paid. The worst year was 2024, with 31. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 7% basements, 28% slabs, 33% crawl spaces, 33% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 24 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 14 |
| 2019 | 2 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 4 |
| 2024 | 31 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 57.16 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 41.55 in (-15.61) |
| 2025 | 43.62 in (-13.54) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1901: 87.84 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2007: 35.81 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at TRYON (7 mi away) | 20.6 |
Homes
| Housing units | 11,042 |
| Median year built | 1984 |
| Built before 1980 | 45% |
| Built 2000 or later | 23% |
| Owner-occupied | 77% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $315,000 |
| Single-family detached | 79% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rutherford County, NC | 16 mi | under 1% | 8% |
| Henderson County, NC | 18 mi | under 1% | 10% |
| Spartanburg County, SC | 26 mi | 1% | 10% |
| McDowell County, NC | 29 mi | 0% | 5% |
| Greenville County, SC | 29 mi | under 1% | 11% |
| Buncombe County, NC | 31 mi | 0% | 4% |
| Cleveland County, NC | 35 mi | 1% | 7% |
| Cherokee County, SC | 35 mi | 1% | 5% |
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