Douglas County, Oregon
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 15% of Douglas County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 12%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. The soil survey maps 70% of the county's land area; these shares describe the mapped part.
94.8% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 58 flood losses here since 2016, 16% of them in buildings with basements. 57% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1977.
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 Douglas County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 14.9% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 11.6% |
| Septic fields very limited | 97.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.8% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 15.8% |
| Mapped soil | 2,263,536 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Bohannon | 4% | n/a |
| Atring | 4% | n/a |
| Windygap | 4% | n/a |
| Orford | 4% | n/a |
| Umpcoos | 4% | n/a |
| Speaker | 3% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas OR649 (2025-09-10), OR682 (2025-09-10)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 36.69 in, 16.40 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 53.09 in.
USDA rates 97% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 15% and a shallow water table on 12% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Douglas County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
94.8% 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 22 weeks, most recently on the September 15, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 94.8% |
| D2 severe or worse | 86.1% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
58 flood losses since 2016, $2.1 million paid. The worst year was 2025, with 53. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 16% basements, 23% slabs, 44% crawl spaces, 18% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 18 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 3 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 53 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 53.09 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 36.69 in (-16.40) |
| 2025 | 43.85 in (-9.24) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1996: 86.28 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2013: 32.58 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at S DEER CREEK (9 mi away) | 5 |
Homes
| Housing units | 50,562 |
| Median year built | 1977 |
| Built before 1980 | 57% |
| Built 2000 or later | 20% |
| Owner-occupied | 73% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $310,300 |
| Single-family detached | 68% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lane County, OR | 46 mi | 12% | 14% |
| Coos County, OR | 48 mi | 8% | 13% |
| Jackson County, OR | 65 mi | 31% | 19% |
| Josephine County, OR | 65 mi | 14% | 4% |
| Curry County, OR | 78 mi | 14% | 6% |
| Benton County, OR | 86 mi | 22% | 24% |
| Klamath County, OR | 87 mi | 20% | 21% |
| Linn County, OR | 89 mi | 25% | 34% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 10, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status