Nye County, Nevada
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 3% of Nye County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 4%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. The soil survey maps 74% of the county's land area; these shares describe the mapped part.
100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 72 flood losses here since 2016, 2% of them in buildings with basements. 12% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1998.
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 Nye County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 2.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 3.6% |
| Septic fields very limited | 72.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 2.9% |
| Mapped soil | 8,604,401 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Stewval | 5% | n/a |
| Unsel | 4% | n/a |
| Bellehelen | 2% | n/a |
| Yermo | 2% | n/a |
| Zadvar | 2% | n/a |
| Koyen | 2% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas NV611 (2025-08-28), NV622 (2025-08-29), NV778 (2025-09-02), NV781 (2025-09-02), NV782 (2025-09-02), NV783 (2025-09-02), NV785 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 8.52 in, 0.71 in above the 1991-2020 average year of 7.81 in.
USDA rates 72% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 3% and a shallow water table on 4% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Nye County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
100% 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 4 weeks, most recently on the October 13, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 100% |
| D2 severe or worse | 29.3% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
72 flood losses since 2016, $1.1 million paid. The worst year was 2021, with 38. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 2% basements, 75% slabs, 24% crawl spaces. Median water depth outside the building: 5 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 38 |
| 2022 | 5 |
| 2023 | 11 |
| 2024 | 3 |
| 2025 | 7 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 7.81 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 8.52 in (+0.71) |
| 2025 | 8.26 in (+0.45) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1941: 15.50 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1953: 3.25 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at TWIN SPRING FALLINI (22 mi away) | 0.3 |
Homes
| Housing units | 25,289 |
| Median year built | 1998 |
| Built before 1980 | 12% |
| Built 2000 or later | 45% |
| Owner-occupied | 78% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $290,900 |
| Single-family detached | 57% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Esmeralda County, NV | 65 mi | 4% | 4% |
| Lincoln County, NV | 90 mi | 6% | 1% |
| Inyo County, CA | 105 mi | n/a | n/a |
| Mineral County, NV | 113 mi | 5% | 2% |
| White Pine County, NV | 131 mi | 7% | 4% |
| Mono County, CA | 132 mi | 3% | 7% |
| Lander County, NV | 137 mi | 11% | 6% |
| Eureka County, NV | 139 mi | 14% | 6% |
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