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Albany, Texas

Inside Albany's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 52% of mapped land, higher than 59% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on 0%.

That clay share is above Shackelford County's 43%. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 76430 overlapping the city. Of its 839 homes, 68% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1961.

Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Shackelford County

52%

expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes

0%

high water table: limits basements

0

flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP

68%

of homes built before 1980

Foundation repair in Albany

Foundation repair in Albany: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 52% of Albany's mapped land, more than in 59% of Texas cities.

About 700 of Albany's 839 homes are detached houses.

Who designs the repairThe ASCE Texas Section's repair guidelines say a Texas-licensed engineer should evaluate the foundation and design the repair (2022 guidelines)
PricesCost guide ranges compared

Soil under Albany city limits

Expansive clay (limits slab homes)51.8%
High water table (limits basements)0.0%
Septic fields very limited87.4%
Clay swell (LEP, by area)7.8%
High-swell land (LEP 6%+)69.4%
Mapped soil1,006 acres
Soil seriesShare hereSeries nationally: expansive clay
Nukrum47%n/a
Pitzer18%n/a
Frio13%n/a
Nuvalde8%n/a
Leeray7%n/a
Mereta3%n/a
Shackelford CountyAlbany
Albany city limits inside Shackelford County, shaded by the city's expansive clay share.under 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+

How we count

What the numbers mean here

Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 7.8% by land area here, and 69% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 52% of the mapped land.

Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of Shackelford County is in drought on the latest map, and 52% of Albany's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.

USDA rates 87% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.

Drought in Shackelford County

100% of Shackelford County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. County detail.

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

Flood losses by ZIP code

FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Albany. ZIP areas reach past city limits.

ZIPShare of city landFlood lossesPaid
76430100%0$0

Homes in Albany

Housing units839
Median year built1961
Built before 198068%
Built 2000 or later14%
Owner-occupied76%
Median value, owner-occupied$173,600
Single-family detached81%

Nearby cities

PlaceDistanceExpansive clayHigh water table
Moran 15 mi 31% under 1%
Lueders 20 mi 93% 0%
Breckenridge 22 mi 37% 1%
Baird 24 mi 59% 0%
Woodson 24 mi 5% 0%
Clyde 25 mi 87% 2%
Putnam 25 mi 80% 0%
Stamford 28 mi 39% under 1%

Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status