Hutchinson County, South Dakota

A shallow water table limits basements on 25% of Hutchinson County's mapped land. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 21%.

94.7% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 5 flood losses here since 2016. 78% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1962.

Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources

21%

expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes

25%

high water table: limits basements

95%

in drought, October 13, 2026

78%

of homes built before 1980

Soil under Hutchinson County

Expansive clay (limits slab homes)	21.4%
High water table (limits basements)	24.5%
Septic fields very limited	90.1%
Clay swell (LEP, by area)	4.4%
High-swell land (LEP 6%+)	22.3%
Mapped soil	800,417 acres

Soil series	Share here	Series nationally: high water table
Clarno	30%	0%
Bonilla	11%	n/a
Tetonka	10%	n/a
Hand	7%	n/a
Prosper	6%	n/a
Ethan	5%	n/a

Hutchinson 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 SD602 (2025-09-10)

What the numbers mean here

Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.4% by land area here, and 22% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 21% of the mapped land.

Clay shrinks as it dries: 94.7% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 21% of Hutchinson County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.

On 25% of Hutchinson 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: 15.63 in, 10.57 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 26.20 in.

USDA rates 90% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.

Drought

94.7% 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 30 weeks, most recently on the September 15, 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	94.7%
D2 severe or worse	0%
D3 extreme or worse	0%
D4 exceptional	0%

Flood losses since 2016

5 flood losses since 2016, $213,572 paid. The worst year was 2019, with 3.

Year	Flood losses
2016	0
2017	0
2018	0
2019	3
2020	0
2021	0
2022	0
2023	0
2024	2
2025	0
2026 to date	0

Rain

Average year, 1991-2020	26.20 in
12 months to August 2026	15.63 in (-10.57)
2025	25.75 in (-0.45)
Wettest year since 1895	2019: 38.64 in
Driest year since 1895	1980: 13.37 in
Days with 1 inch or more, normal at MENNO (11 mi away)	5.5

Homes

Housing units	3,236
Median year built	1962
Built before 1980	78%
Built 2000 or later	11%
Owner-occupied	77%
Median value, owner-occupied	$163,000
Single-family detached	86%

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
Hanson County, SD	24 mi	21%	25%
Bon Homme County, SD	25 mi	27%	26%
Yankton County, SD	29 mi	21%	30%
Turner County, SD	30 mi	20%	39%
McCook County, SD	31 mi	26%	33%
Douglas County, SD	31 mi	33%	21%
Davison County, SD	31 mi	18%	20%
Charles Mix County, SD	43 mi	29%	13%

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