Menard County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 12% of Menard County's mapped land, a higher share than 58% of US counties. A shallow water table limits basements on 0%.
78.9% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 10 flood losses here since 2016. 61% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1972.
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 Menard County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 11.6% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 85.5% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 5.9% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 77.3% |
| Mapped soil | 577,395 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Tarrant | 68% | n/a |
| Kavett | 6% | n/a |
| Valera | 6% | n/a |
| Nuvalde | 3% | n/a |
| Dev | 3% | n/a |
| Angelo | 2% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX327 (2025-09-04)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 24.83 in, 0.51 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 25.34 in.
USDA rates 85% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 12% and a shallow water table on 0% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Menard County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
78.9% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 9 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 2 weeks, most recently on the November 18, 2025 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 95.9% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 78.9% |
| D2 severe or worse | 16.1% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
10 flood losses since 2016, $144,432 paid. The worst year was 2025, with 6.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 6 |
| 2026 to date | 1 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 25.34 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 24.83 in (-0.51) |
| 2025 | 26.28 in (+0.94) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1919: 44.76 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1917: 10.62 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at JUNCTION 4SSW (31 mi away) | 6.1 |
Homes
| Housing units | 1,383 |
| Median year built | 1972 |
| Built before 1980 | 61% |
| Built 2000 or later | 16% |
| Owner-occupied | 81% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $108,500 |
| Single-family detached | 79% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Menard County
| City | Expansive clay | High water table | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Menard | 38% | 0% | 717 |
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimble County, TX | 29 mi | 6% | 0% |
| Concho County, TX | 30 mi | 32% | under 1% |
| McCulloch County, TX | 37 mi | 29% | under 1% |
| Mason County, TX | 39 mi | 15% | 0% |
| Schleicher County, TX | 40 mi | 32% | 0% |
| Sutton County, TX | 46 mi | 19% | under 1% |
| Tom Green County, TX | 50 mi | 43% | under 1% |
| Kerr County, TX | 64 mi | 33% | under 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