Culberson County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 2% of Culberson County's mapped land. A shallow water table limits basements on under 1%.
10.9% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 1 flood losses here since 2016. 59% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1975.
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 Culberson County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 2.3% |
| High water table (limits basements) | under 0.1% |
| Septic fields very limited | 67.9% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 1.9% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 1.7% |
| Mapped soil | 2,443,527 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Bissett | 12% | n/a |
| Beach | 8% | n/a |
| Culberspeth | 7% | n/a |
| Elcor | 5% | n/a |
| Pokorny | 5% | n/a |
| Reyab | 5% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX625 (2025-09-05), TX626 (2025-09-05)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 10.08 in, 1.30 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 11.38 in.
USDA rates 68% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 2% and a shallow water table on under 1% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Culberson County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
10.9% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 41 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 33 weeks, most recently on the September 29, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 10.9% |
| D2 severe or worse | 1.3% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
1 flood losses since 2016, $63,112 paid. The worst year was 2020, with 1.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 11.38 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 10.08 in (-1.30) |
| 2025 | 11.34 in (-0.04) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1941: 27.70 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2011: 3.76 in |
Homes
| Housing units | 1,097 |
| Median year built | 1975 |
| Built before 1980 | 59% |
| Built 2000 or later | 10% |
| Owner-occupied | 70% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $79,300 |
| Single-family detached | 71% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Culberson County
| City | Expansive clay | High water table | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Van Horn | 0% | 0% | 937 |
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reeves County, TX | 49 mi | 11% | 1% |
| Hudspeth County, TX | 50 mi | 1% | 1% |
| Jeff Davis County, TX | 60 mi | 13% | under 1% |
| Loving County, TX | 70 mi | 2% | 4% |
| Eddy County, NM | 71 mi | 2% | under 1% |
| Ward County, TX | 84 mi | 4% | 0% |
| Winkler County, TX | 95 mi | 0% | 0% |
| Presidio County, TX | 101 mi | 10% | 0% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 5, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status