Italy, Texas
Inside Italy's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 70% of mapped land, higher than 75% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on 0%.
That clay share is close to Ellis County's 72%. FEMA's flood data list 1 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 76651 overlapping the city. Of its 821 homes, 54% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1978.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Ellis County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
of homes built before 1980
Foundation repair in Italy
Foundation repair in Italy: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 70% of Italy's mapped land, more than in 75% of Texas cities.
About 700 of Italy's 821 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 Italy city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 70.4% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 83.7% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 9.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 57.6% |
| Mapped soil | 1,290 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Black | 56% | 91% |
| Austin | 14% | 93% |
| Heiden | 10% | 80% |
| Stephen | 8% | n/a |
| Eddy | 5% | 0% |
| Fairlie | 3% | 70% |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 9.5% by land area here, and 58% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 70% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of Ellis County is in drought on the latest map, and 70% of Italy's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 84% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Ellis County
100% of Ellis 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 Italy. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76651 | 100% | 1 | $0 |
Homes in Italy
| Housing units | 821 |
| Median year built | 1978 |
| Built before 1980 | 54% |
| Built 2000 or later | 19% |
| Owner-occupied | 67% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $168,600 |
| Single-family detached | 81% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milford | 6 mi | 80% | under 1% |
| Frost | 9 mi | 79% | under 1% |
| Mertens | 9 mi | 82% | under 1% |
| Maypearl | 11 mi | 83% | 7% |
| Blooming Grove | 12 mi | 86% | 0% |
| Carl's Corner | 12 mi | 10% | under 1% |
| Bardwell | 12 mi | 81% | 0% |
| Waxahachie | 15 mi | 73% | under 1% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status