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Amarillo, Texas
Inside Amarillo's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 49% of mapped land, higher than 57% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on 7%.
That clay share is above Potter County's 19%. FEMA's flood data list 44 flood losses since 2016 in the 11 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 89,188 homes, 60% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1973.
Data as of September 22, 2026 · sources · in Potter County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 11 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Soil under Amarillo city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 49.2% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 6.9% |
| Septic fields very limited | 71.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 6.2% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 47.5% |
| Urban land, not rated | 22.6% |
| Mapped soil | 69,132 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Pullman | 29% | 100% |
| Pantex | 9% | n/a |
| Estacado | 4% | n/a |
| Acuff | 3% | 1% |
| Lofton | 3% | n/a |
| Pep | 3% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 6.2% by land area here, and 47% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 49% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of Potter County is in drought on the latest map, and 49% of Amarillo's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 71% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Potter County
100% of Potter County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the September 22, 2026 map.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Amarillo. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 79107 | 17% | 0 | $0 |
| 79118 | 12% | 9 | $446,569 |
| 79109 | 10% | 22 | $1.8 million |
| 79111 | 10% | 0 | $0 |
| 79106 | 8% | 1 | $918 |
| 79110 | 5% | 7 | $293,110 |
| 79103 | 4% | 4 | $109,563 |
| 79104 | 3% | 0 | $0 |
| 79102 | 3% | 1 | $70,000 |
| 79121 | 2% | 0 | $0 |
| 79101 | 2% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Amarillo
| Housing units | 89,188 |
| Median year built | 1973 |
| Built before 1980 | 60% |
| Built 2000 or later | 21% |
| Owner-occupied | 60% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $196,900 |
| Single-family detached | 70% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Hills | 8 mi | 0% | under 1% |
| Palisades | 10 mi | 1% | 0% |
| Timbercreek Canyon | 10 mi | 6% | 0% |
| Lake Tanglewood | 10 mi | under 1% | 0% |
| Canyon | 15 mi | 19% | under 1% |
| Claude | 27 mi | 99% | 1% |
| Panhandle | 27 mi | over 99% | 8% |
| Happy | 32 mi | 69% | 1% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (September 22, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status