Van Buren County, Tennessee
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 1% of Van Buren County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 2%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 79.9% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 9 flood losses here since 2016. 55% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1978.
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 Van Buren County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.4% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 1.7% |
| Septic fields very limited | 65.4% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.7% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 1.4% |
| Mapped soil | 174,371 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Lonewood | 26% | n/a |
| Ramsey | 20% | n/a |
| Lily | 10% | n/a |
| Waynesboro | 6% | n/a |
| Gilpin | 5% | 0% |
| Varilla | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TN604 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 45.45 in, 13.00 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 58.45 in.
USDA rates 65% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on 2% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Van Buren County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
79.9% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 34 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 8 weeks, most recently on the May 26, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 79.9% |
| D2 severe or worse | 7.8% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
9 flood losses since 2016, $339,781 paid. The worst year was 2019, with 6.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 6 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 58.45 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 45.45 in (-13.00) |
| 2025 | 58.21 in (-0.24) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2018: 75.28 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2007: 34.40 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at SPARTA WASTEWATER PLANT (14 mi away) | 16.7 |
Homes
| Housing units | 2,922 |
| Median year built | 1978 |
| Built before 1980 | 55% |
| Built 2000 or later | 26% |
| Owner-occupied | 86% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $159,200 |
| Single-family detached | 75% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| White County, TN | 16 mi | 2% | 8% |
| Bledsoe County, TN | 16 mi | 2% | 4% |
| Warren County, TN | 18 mi | under 1% | 26% |
| Sequatchie County, TN | 23 mi | 1% | 3% |
| Grundy County, TN | 25 mi | 2% | 5% |
| DeKalb County, TN | 29 mi | 13% | 19% |
| Rhea County, TN | 29 mi | 3% | 10% |
| Putnam County, TN | 31 mi | 6% | 12% |
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