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El Paso, Texas
Inside El Paso's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 4% of mapped land, the 5th-highest of 7 cities in El Paso County. A shallow water table limits basements on 0%.
That clay share is close to El Paso County's 4%. FEMA's flood data list 95 flood losses since 2016 in the 19 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 265,320 homes, 44% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1984.
Data as of November 3, 2026 · sources · in El Paso County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 19 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Foundation repair in El Paso
Foundation repair in El Paso: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 4% of El Paso's mapped land.
About 177,800 of El Paso's 265,320 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 El Paso city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 4.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 45.3% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 4.0% |
| Mapped soil | 166,069 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Delnorte | 17% | n/a |
| Bluepoint | 11% | n/a |
| Turney | 9% | n/a |
| Hueco | 8% | n/a |
| Wink | 6% | n/a |
| Canutio | 6% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
With shrink-swell clay on 4% and a shallow water table on 0% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of El Paso; conditions still vary lot by lot.
El Paso covers 258.9 square miles of land and counts 265,320 housing units, about 1,025 per square mile.
61% of El Paso's occupied homes are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $184,500; 30% of all homes in the city date from 2000 or later.
The largest soil series under El Paso is Delnorte, on 17% of the mapped land, followed by Bluepoint at 11%.
Clay swell, measured as linear extensibility, averages 2.5% across El Paso's 166,069 mapped acres.
Drought in El Paso County
0% of El Paso 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 El Paso. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 79934 | 19% | 1 | $5,279 |
| 79911 | 13% | 0 | $0 |
| 79912 | 9% | 25 | $1.1 million |
| 79936 | 8% | 2 | $345,988 |
| 79925 | 7% | 0 | $0 |
| 79907 | 5% | 1 | $0 |
| 79924 | 5% | 22 | $448,351 |
| 79904 | 5% | 9 | $129,123 |
| 79932 | 4% | 6 | $12,568 |
| 79915 | 3% | 10 | $16,158 |
| 79930 | 3% | 4 | $71,462 |
| 79922 | 3% | 5 | $10,395 |
| 79902 | 3% | 1 | $71,765 |
| 79905 | 3% | 3 | $20,497 |
| 79935 | 1% | 3 | $46,193 |
| 79903 | 1% | 3 | $515,045 |
| 79901 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
| 79906 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
| 79920 | under 1% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in El Paso
| Housing units | 265,320 |
| Median year built | 1984 |
| Built before 1980 | 44% |
| Built 2000 or later | 30% |
| Owner-occupied | 61% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $184,500 |
| Single-family detached | 67% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinton | 12 mi | under 1% | 0% |
| Anthony | 14 mi | 6% | 0% |
| Socorro | 18 mi | 27% | 0% |
| Horizon City | 18 mi | 0% | 0% |
| San Elizario | 21 mi | 22% | 0% |
| Clint | 21 mi | 20% | 0% |
| Dell City | 72 mi | 0% | 0% |
| Van Horn | 109 mi | 0% | 0% |
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