Hickman County, Tennessee
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 1% of Hickman County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 10%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 32 flood losses here since 2016, 0% of them in buildings with basements. 40% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1989.
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 Hickman County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.4% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 10.2% |
| Septic fields very limited | 77.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.2% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 2.5% |
| Mapped soil | 391,800 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Biffle | 41% | n/a |
| Sengtown | 15% | n/a |
| Mountview | 6% | n/a |
| Hawthorne | 4% | n/a |
| Humphreys | 3% | n/a |
| Sulphura | 3% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TN081 (2025-08-28)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 47.86 in, 6.77 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 54.63 in.
USDA rates 78% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on 10% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Hickman County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
100% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 30 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 17 weeks, most recently on the October 13, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 100% |
| D2 severe or worse | 40.9% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
32 flood losses since 2016, $4.0 million paid. The worst year was 2021, with 27. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 36% slabs, 41% crawl spaces, 23% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 57.5 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 27 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 54.63 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 47.86 in (-6.77) |
| 2025 | 50.64 in (-3.99) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1979: 72.72 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1941: 34.96 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at DICKSON (19 mi away) | 16.4 |
Homes
| Housing units | 10,711 |
| Median year built | 1989 |
| Built before 1980 | 40% |
| Built 2000 or later | 27% |
| Owner-occupied | 79% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $224,100 |
| Single-family detached | 71% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis County, TN | 19 mi | under 1% | 17% |
| Dickson County, TN | 24 mi | under 1% | 12% |
| Humphreys County, TN | 24 mi | 0% | 24% |
| Perry County, TN | 24 mi | 4% | 9% |
| Maury County, TN | 25 mi | 8% | 9% |
| Williamson County, TN | 32 mi | 8% | 17% |
| Houston County, TN | 36 mi | 0% | 13% |
| Cheatham County, TN | 37 mi | under 1% | 19% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 28, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status