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Lea County, New Mexico
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 4% of Lea County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on under 1%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 67.2% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map, down from 91% a week earlier.
FEMA's flood data list 23 flood losses here since 2016. 52% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1979.
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 Lea County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 3.9% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.1% |
| Septic fields very limited | 65.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.9% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.7% |
| Mapped soil | 2,807,302 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Kimbrough | 20% | n/a |
| Lea | 9% | n/a |
| Pyote | 9% | n/a |
| Maljamar | 6% | n/a |
| Kermit | 6% | n/a |
| Simona | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas NM025 (2025-09-09)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 9.21 in, 5.35 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 14.56 in.
USDA rates 65% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 4% and a shallow water table on under 1% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Lea County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
67.2% 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 18 weeks, most recently on the September 29, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 67.2% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
23 flood losses since 2016, $143,385 paid. The worst year was 2016, with 13.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 13 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 1 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 14.56 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 9.21 in (-5.35) |
| 2025 | 13.04 in (-1.52) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1941: 32.10 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2011: 5.32 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at TATUM (31 mi away) | 3.2 |
Homes
| Housing units | 28,403 |
| Median year built | 1979 |
| Built before 1980 | 52% |
| Built 2000 or later | 25% |
| Owner-occupied | 71% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $184,000 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoakum County, TX | 42 mi | under 1% | under 1% |
| Gaines County, TX | 46 mi | under 1% | under 1% |
| Andrews County, TX | 56 mi | 2% | under 1% |
| Eddy County, NM | 57 mi | 2% | under 1% |
| Loving County, TX | 63 mi | 2% | 4% |
| Cochran County, TX | 65 mi | 1% | 1% |
| Terry County, TX | 67 mi | 1% | 1% |
| Winkler County, TX | 72 mi | 0% | 0% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 9, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status