HomeTexasKaufman CountyCottonwood
Cottonwood, Texas
Inside Cottonwood's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 52% of mapped land, higher than 58% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on 28%, the 2nd-highest of 15 cities in Kaufman County.
That clay share is below Kaufman County's 73%. FEMA's flood data list 5 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 75158 overlapping the city.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Kaufman County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
Foundation repair in Cottonwood
Foundation repair in Cottonwood: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 52% of Cottonwood's mapped land, more than in 58% of Texas cities.
| 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 Cottonwood city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 51.6% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 27.7% |
| Septic fields very limited | 76.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 8.0% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 64.4% |
| Mapped soil | 925 acres |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 8.0% by land area here, and 64% 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 Kaufman County is in drought on the latest map, and 52% of Cottonwood's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
On 28% of Cottonwood's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 76% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Kaufman County
100% of Kaufman County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Cottonwood. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75158 | 100% | 5 | $273,029 |
Homes
Cottonwood has fewer than 100 housing units in the ACS 2020-2024 estimates, too few for reliable shares.
Nearby cities
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026). Methods · Data status