Beaufort County, South Carolina

A shallow water table limits basements on 77% of Beaufort County's mapped land, a higher share than 86% of US counties. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 32%.

23.9% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 3,613 flood losses here since 2016, 1% of them in buildings with basements. 16% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1999.

Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources

32%

expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes

77%

high water table: limits basements

24%

in drought, October 13, 2026

16%

of homes built before 1980

Soil under Beaufort County

Expansive clay (limits slab homes)	31.7%
High water table (limits basements)	76.8%
Septic fields very limited	83.5%
Clay swell (LEP, by area)	4.2%
High-swell land (LEP 6%+)	31.7%
Mapped soil	442,500 acres

Soil series	Share here	Series nationally: high water table
Bohicket	23%	n/a
Capers	9%	n/a
Lakeland	6%	0%
Chipley	5%	n/a
Bladen	5%	n/a
Coosaw	5%	n/a

Beaufort County (heavy outline) and nearby counties, shaded by high water table share.under 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+

How we count · survey areas SC013 (2025-09-03)

What the numbers mean here

Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.2% by land area here, and 32% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 32% of the mapped land.

Clay shrinks as it dries: 23.9% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 32% of Beaufort County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.

On 77% of Beaufort County's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.

Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 25.95 in, 22.72 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 48.67 in.

USDA rates 84% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.

Drought

23.9% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 48 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 33 weeks, most recently on the August 25, 2026 map.

October 21, 2025Share of area in drought, weeklyOctober 13, 2026

Category, October 13, 2026	Share of county
D0 abnormally dry or worse	100%
D1 moderate drought or worse	23.9%
D2 severe or worse	0%
D3 extreme or worse	0%
D4 exceptional	0%

Flood losses since 2016

3,613 flood losses since 2016, $72.7 million paid. The worst year was 2016, with 2,698. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 1% basements, 35% slabs, 9% crawl spaces, 55% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 13 in.

Year	Flood losses
2016	2,698
2017	728
2018	15
2019	28
2020	14
2021	28
2022	12
2023	8
2024	56
2025	23
2026 to date	3

Rain

Average year, 1991-2020	48.67 in
12 months to August 2026	25.95 in (-22.72)
2025	40.09 in (-8.58)
Wettest year since 1895	1964: 73.57 in
Driest year since 1895	1931: 27.98 in
Days with 1 inch or more, normal at BEAUFORT MCAS (9 mi away)	13.2

Homes

Housing units	103,177
Median year built	1999
Built before 1980	16%
Built 2000 or later	48%
Owner-occupied	76%
Median value, owner-occupied	$455,600
Single-family detached	64%

What repairs cost

Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.

Work	Range	Source
Basement waterproofing, US	$3,000 to $10,000	Fixr, February 6, 2026
Sump pump installation, US	$800 to $2,000	Fixr, January 31, 2025
Crawl space encapsulation, US	$2,000 to $8,000	Fixr, August 29, 2025

Nearby counties

Place	Distance	Expansive clay	High water table
Jasper County, SC	20 mi	8%	91%
Colleton County, SC	34 mi	5%	92%
Chatham County, GA	35 mi	8%	54%
Effingham County, GA	38 mi	2%	92%
Hampton County, SC	40 mi	0%	99%
Bryan County, GA	50 mi	9%	89%
Dorchester County, SC	53 mi	0%	95%
Charleston County, SC	53 mi	0%	81%

Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 3, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status