Brooks County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 1% of Brooks County's mapped land. A shallow water table limits basements on 9%.
100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 2 flood losses here since 2016. 60% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1970.
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 Brooks County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.6% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 8.7% |
| Septic fields very limited | 41.3% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.8% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 0.6% |
| Mapped soil | 603,993 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Sarita | 25% | n/a |
| Nueces | 22% | n/a |
| Falfurrias | 19% | n/a |
| Sauz | 5% | n/a |
| Comitas | 4% | n/a |
| Palobia | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX047 (2025-09-04)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 17.76 in, 6.56 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 24.32 in.
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on 9% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Brooks 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 44 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 34 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 | 92% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 19.1% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
2 flood losses since 2016, $1,581 paid. The worst year was 2021, with 1.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 24.32 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 17.76 in (-6.56) |
| 2025 | 22.30 in (-2.02) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1973: 44.01 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1917: 9.23 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at FALFURRIAS (9 mi away) | 8.3 |
Homes
| Housing units | 3,884 |
| Median year built | 1970 |
| Built before 1980 | 60% |
| Built 2000 or later | 20% |
| Owner-occupied | 53% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $81,000 |
| Single-family detached | 79% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Brooks County
| City | Expansive clay | High water table | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falfurrias | 6% | 14% | 2,637 |
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Hogg County, TX | 33 mi | under 1% | under 1% |
| Kenedy County, TX | 40 mi | 1% | 39% |
| Hidalgo County, TX | 44 mi | 12% | 6% |
| Kleberg County, TX | 44 mi | 31% | 18% |
| Starr County, TX | 48 mi | 14% | 1% |
| Duval County, TX | 48 mi | 4% | under 1% |
| Jim Wells County, TX | 49 mi | 27% | 19% |
| Willacy County, TX | 54 mi | 18% | 34% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 4, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status