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Fort Worth, Texas
Inside Fort Worth's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 42% of mapped land, higher than 51% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on under 1%.
That clay share is close to Tarrant County's 41%. FEMA's flood data list 205 flood losses since 2016 in the 34 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 373,948 homes, 34% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1994.
Data as of November 3, 2026 · sources · in Tarrant County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 34 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Foundation repair in Fort Worth
Foundation repair in Fort Worth: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 42% of Fort Worth's mapped land, more than in 51% of Texas cities.
The city requires a permit for the work, and Today's Homeowner (February 25, 2025) puts the average job at $3,148.
About 242,300 of Fort Worth's 373,948 homes are detached houses.
| City permit | Required. Fort Worth requires a building permit and engineered plans for every residential foundation repair. (City of Fort Worth, Development Services Department, read October 2, 2026) |
| Contractor registration | Applicants must be registered building contractors, or owners who qualify for a homestead permit on the home they live in. (City of Fort Worth, Development Services Department) |
| 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) |
| Watering the foundation | Fort Worth's drought plan keeps hand-held hose, soaker hose and drip watering allowed any day and time even when landscape watering is banned, to protect foundations and trees. (City of Fort Worth, Fort Worth Water) |
| Prices | Today's Homeowner, February 25, 2025 · cost guide ranges compared |
Soil under Fort Worth city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 42.3% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.4% |
| Septic fields very limited | 71.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 6.8% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 45.7% |
| Urban land, not rated | 14.6% |
| Mapped soil | 232,193 acres |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 6.8% by land area here, and 46% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 42% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 49.3% of Tarrant County is in drought on the latest map, and 42% of Fort Worth's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 72% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Fort Worth covers 354.4 square miles of land and counts 373,948 housing units, about 1,055 per square mile.
57% of Fort Worth's occupied homes are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $303,000; 43% of all homes in the city date from 2000 or later.
The largest soil series under Fort Worth is Sanger, on 16% of the mapped land, followed by Aledo at 11%.
USDA's soil survey maps 232,193 acres inside Fort Worth's city limits.
Drought in Tarrant County
49.3% of Tarrant 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 Fort Worth. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76179 | 6% | 4 | $56,686 |
| 76052 | 5% | 0 | $0 |
| 76177 | 5% | 0 | $0 |
| 76106 | 4% | 11 | $239,007 |
| 76244 | 4% | 5 | $67,318 |
| 76108 | 4% | 9 | $148,258 |
| 76119 | 4% | 10 | $172,114 |
| 76112 | 3% | 13 | $256,547 |
| 76135 | 3% | 6 | $155,988 |
| 76137 | 3% | 2 | $7,704 |
| 76116 | 3% | 13 | $95,341 |
| 76131 | 3% | 2 | $93,396 |
| 76140 | 3% | 50 | $1.8 million |
| 76107 | 3% | 29 | $1.3 million |
| 76123 | 3% | 1 | $0 |
| 76133 | 3% | 4 | $25,183 |
| 76109 | 2% | 8 | $116,780 |
| 76120 | 2% | 4 | $12,817 |
| 76134 | 2% | 4 | $15,384 |
| 76111 | 2% | 2 | $10,020 |
| 76132 | 2% | 5 | $27,481 |
| 76118 | 2% | 9 | $197,186 |
| 76103 | 2% | 3 | $106,088 |
| 76104 | 2% | 3 | $126,175 |
| 76105 | 2% | 0 | $0 |
| 76110 | 2% | 4 | $125,271 |
| 76102 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
| 76115 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
| 76114 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
| 76164 | 1% | 3 | $86,696 |
| 76155 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
| 76040 | 1% | 1 | $0 |
| 76127 | 1% | 0 | $0 |
| 76129 | 0% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Fort Worth
| Housing units | 373,948 |
| Median year built | 1994 |
| Built before 1980 | 34% |
| Built 2000 or later | 43% |
| Owner-occupied | 57% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $303,000 |
| Single-family detached | 65% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| River Oaks | 3 mi | 10% | 2% |
| Sansom Park | 3 mi | 12% | 0% |
| Westover Hills | 5 mi | 1% | 0% |
| Westworth Village | 5 mi | 21% | 1% |
| Blue Mound | 5 mi | 53% | 0% |
| Haltom City | 5 mi | 44% | 1% |
| Lake Worth | 5 mi | 26% | 1% |
| Saginaw | 6 mi | 73% | 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