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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 November 3, 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
Foundation repair in Amarillo
Foundation repair in Amarillo: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 49% of Amarillo's mapped land, more than in 57% of Texas cities.
About 62,400 of Amarillo's 89,188 homes are detached houses.
| Who designs the repair | The ASCE Texas Section's repair guidelines say a Texas-licensed engineer should evaluate the foundation and design the repair (2022 guidelines) |
| Prices | Cost guide ranges compared |
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 |
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: 1% 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.
Amarillo covers 106.1 square miles of land and counts 89,188 housing units, about 841 per square mile.
60% of Amarillo's occupied homes are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $196,900; 21% of all homes in the city date from 2000 or later.
The largest soil series under Amarillo is Pullman, on 29% of the mapped land, followed by Pantex at 9%.
USDA's soil survey maps 69,132 acres inside Amarillo's city limits.
Drought in Potter County
1% of Potter County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the November 3, 2026 map. County detail.
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 (November 3, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status