Lane County, Oregon
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 12% of Lane County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 14%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. The soil survey maps 63% of the county's land area; these shares describe the mapped part.
88.7% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 38 flood losses here since 2016, 13% of them in buildings with basements. 55% 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 Lane County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 12.3% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 13.6% |
| Septic fields very limited | 95.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.7% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 12.9% |
| Mapped soil | 1,826,312 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Bohannon | 11% | n/a |
| Peavine | 10% | n/a |
| Klickitat | 8% | n/a |
| Bellpine | 8% | n/a |
| Preacher | 5% | n/a |
| Kinney | 3% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas OR601 (2025-09-09), OR637 (2025-09-10)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 46.75 in, 17.30 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 64.05 in.
USDA rates 95% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 12% and a shallow water table on 14% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Lane County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
88.7% 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 8 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 | 88.7% |
| D2 severe or worse | 85.6% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 44.4% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
38 flood losses since 2016, $380,645 paid. The worst year was 2019, with 19. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 13% basements, 21% slabs, 58% crawl spaces, 8% elevated.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 19 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 64.05 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 46.75 in (-17.30) |
| 2025 | 55.09 in (-8.96) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1996: 101.50 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1944: 41.31 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at LOOKOUT PT DAM (7 mi away) | 6.7 |
Homes
| Housing units | 169,788 |
| Median year built | 1977 |
| Built before 1980 | 55% |
| Built 2000 or later | 22% |
| Owner-occupied | 60% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $430,600 |
| Single-family detached | 61% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linn County, OR | 43 mi | 25% | 34% |
| Douglas County, OR | 46 mi | 15% | 12% |
| Benton County, OR | 48 mi | 22% | 24% |
| Marion County, OR | 69 mi | 19% | 40% |
| Lincoln County, OR | 70 mi | 1% | 6% |
| Polk County, OR | 72 mi | 18% | 30% |
| Coos County, OR | 79 mi | 8% | 13% |
| Deschutes County, OR | 83 mi | 9% | 5% |
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