Kaufman County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 73% of Kaufman County's mapped land, a higher share than 98% of US counties and the 8th highest of 254 Texas counties. A shallow water table limits basements on 16%.
100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 36 flood losses here since 2016, 0% of them in buildings with basements. 17% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 2005.
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 Kaufman County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 72.5% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 15.5% |
| Septic fields very limited | 83.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 9.6% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 76.8% |
| Mapped soil | 516,774 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Wilson | 11% | 88% |
| Crockett | 10% | 94% |
| Houston Black | 9% | 91% |
| Trinity | 8% | n/a |
| Mabank | 7% | n/a |
| Lufkin | 7% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX612 (2025-09-05)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 9.6% by land area here, and 77% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 73% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 73% of Kaufman County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
On 16% of Kaufman 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: 28.43 in, 12.92 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 41.35 in.
USDA rates 84% 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 38 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 14 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 | 11.3% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
36 flood losses since 2016, $1.4 million paid. The worst year was 2024, with 9. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 97% slabs, 3% crawl spaces. Median water depth outside the building: 8.5 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3 |
| 2022 | 6 |
| 2023 | 6 |
| 2024 | 9 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 41.35 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 28.43 in (-12.92) |
| 2025 | 40.35 in (-1.00) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2015: 65.71 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1896: 22.61 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at ROSSER (14 mi away) | 13.3 |
Homes
| Housing units | 54,130 |
| Median year built | 2005 |
| Built before 1980 | 17% |
| Built 2000 or later | 61% |
| Owner-occupied | 78% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $320,900 |
| Single-family detached | 79% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Kaufman County
| City | Expansive clay | High water table | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combine | 51% | 15% | 874 |
| Cottonwood | 52% | 28% | 89 |
| Crandall | 83% | 2% | 1,580 |
| Forney | 83% | 3% | 10,395 |
| Grays Prairie | 74% | 21% | 107 |
| Kaufman | 79% | 10% | 2,762 |
| Kemp | 84% | 4% | 466 |
| Mabank | 73% | 13% | 1,940 |
| Oak Grove | 85% | 1% | 245 |
| Oak Ridge | 84% | 7% | 306 |
| Post Oak Bend | 76% | 13% | 243 |
| Rosser | 45% | 43% | 120 |
| Scurry | 78% | 10% | 234 |
| Talty | 83% | 2% | 862 |
| Terrell | 81% | 12% | 6,167 |
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rockwall County, TX | 21 mi | 72% | 2% |
| Van Zandt County, TX | 27 mi | 46% | 35% |
| Dallas County, TX | 30 mi | 51% | 6% |
| Rains County, TX | 34 mi | 60% | 34% |
| Ellis County, TX | 35 mi | 72% | 4% |
| Hunt County, TX | 37 mi | 78% | 17% |
| Henderson County, TX | 38 mi | 25% | 25% |
| Navarro County, TX | 41 mi | 75% | 8% |
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