Hall County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 1% of Hall County's mapped land. A shallow water table limits basements on under 1%.
100% 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. 89% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1959.
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 Hall County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.1% |
| Septic fields very limited | 65.4% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.0% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 1.0% |
| Mapped soil | 577,926 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Woodward | 23% | n/a |
| Quinlan | 14% | n/a |
| Miles | 8% | 0% |
| Enterprise | 4% | n/a |
| Carey | 4% | n/a |
| Weymouth | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX191 (2025-09-04)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 13.57 in, 8.86 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 22.43 in.
USDA rates 65% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on under 1% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Hall 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 49 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 37 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 | 40.1% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 21.1% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
1 flood losses since 2016, $1,761 paid. The worst year was 2016, with 1.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 22.43 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 13.57 in (-8.86) |
| 2025 | 21.15 in (-1.28) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1941: 39.34 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2011: 9.95 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at NORTHFIELD (13 mi away) | 6.3 |
Homes
| Housing units | 1,739 |
| Median year built | 1959 |
| Built before 1980 | 89% |
| Built 2000 or later | 5% |
| Owner-occupied | 74% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $86,100 |
| Single-family detached | 90% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Hall County
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childress County, TX | 21 mi | 12% | 1% |
| Motley County, TX | 30 mi | 7% | under 1% |
| Cottle County, TX | 30 mi | 18% | 2% |
| Briscoe County, TX | 36 mi | 40% | 8% |
| Donley County, TX | 37 mi | 4% | 1% |
| Collingsworth County, TX | 39 mi | 7% | under 1% |
| Harmon County, OK | 46 mi | 25% | 2% |
| Hardeman County, TX | 49 mi | 34% | 1% |
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