Jasper County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 15% of Jasper County's mapped land, a higher share than 63% of US counties. A shallow water table limits basements on 43%.
100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map, up from 29.9% a week earlier. FEMA's flood data list 123 flood losses here since 2016, 0% of them in buildings with basements. 39% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1987.
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 Jasper County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 15.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 42.8% |
| Septic fields very limited | 74.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.9% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 23.3% |
| Mapped soil | 620,646 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Evadale | 7% | n/a |
| Tehran | 6% | n/a |
| Otanya | 6% | n/a |
| Kirbyville | 5% | n/a |
| Letney | 5% | n/a |
| Pinetucky | 3% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX611 (2025-09-05)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 3.9% by land area here, and 23% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 15% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 15% of Jasper County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
On 43% of Jasper County's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 43.46 in, 14.82 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 58.28 in.
USDA rates 75% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
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 43 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 24 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 | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
123 flood losses since 2016, $6.1 million paid. The worst year was 2017, with 67. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 83% slabs, 2% crawl spaces, 15% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 14 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 17 |
| 2017 | 67 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 10 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 11 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 15 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 58.28 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 43.46 in (-14.82) |
| 2025 | 51.91 in (-6.37) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1973: 81.14 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1917: 34.25 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at TOWN BLUFF DAM (10 mi away) | 19.2 |
Homes
| Housing units | 16,727 |
| Median year built | 1987 |
| Built before 1980 | 39% |
| Built 2000 or later | 27% |
| Owner-occupied | 79% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $136,400 |
| Single-family detached | 49% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Jasper County
| City | Expansive clay | High water table | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Browndell | 33% | 60% | 80 |
| Jasper | 41% | 7% | 3,896 |
| Kirbyville | 0% | 52% | 949 |
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Newton County, TX | 17 mi | 13% | 36% |
| Tyler County, TX | 21 mi | 18% | 34% |
| Hardin County, TX | 37 mi | 12% | 67% |
| Beauregard Parish, LA | 41 mi | 10% | 76% |
| Sabine County, TX | 42 mi | 31% | 26% |
| San Augustine County, TX | 44 mi | 20% | 28% |
| Orange County, TX | 45 mi | 26% | 65% |
| Polk County, TX | 48 mi | 23% | 45% |
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