Cocke County, Tennessee
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 1% of Cocke County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 6%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 0.2% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 56 flood losses here since 2016, 14% of them in buildings with basements. 40% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1987.
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 Cocke County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 6.2% |
| Septic fields very limited | 82.5% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.1% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.7% |
| Mapped soil | 281,709 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Nonaburg | 12% | n/a |
| Cataska | 10% | n/a |
| Dewey | 8% | 0% |
| Keener | 6% | n/a |
| Unicoi | 6% | n/a |
| Ditney | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TN606 (2025-09-02), TN640 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 44.39 in, 6.35 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 50.74 in.
USDA rates 82% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on 6% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Cocke County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
0.2% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 46 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 13 weeks, most recently on the May 26, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 27.3% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 0.2% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
56 flood losses since 2016, $5.5 million paid. The worst year was 2024, with 42. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 14% basements, 37% slabs, 33% crawl spaces, 16% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 58 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 9 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 42 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 3 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 50.74 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 44.39 in (-6.35) |
| 2025 | 48.08 in (-2.66) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2013: 65.19 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2007: 30.43 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at NEWPORT 1 NW (7 mi away) | 10.2 |
Homes
| Housing units | 17,957 |
| Median year built | 1987 |
| Built before 1980 | 40% |
| Built 2000 or later | 25% |
| Owner-occupied | 75% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $158,100 |
| Single-family detached | 63% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County, TN | 20 mi | 0% | 5% |
| Hamblen County, TN | 22 mi | 4% | 7% |
| Madison County, NC | 23 mi | 0% | 2% |
| Greene County, TN | 24 mi | 2% | 20% |
| Sevier County, TN | 24 mi | 0% | 7% |
| Haywood County, NC | 26 mi | 1% | 2% |
| Swain County, NC | 31 mi | 0% | 1% |
| Grainger County, TN | 33 mi | 2% | 3% |
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