Montague County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 23% of Montague County's mapped land, a higher share than 74% of US counties. A shallow water table limits basements on 3%.
100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 7 flood losses here since 2016. 52% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1979.
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 Montague County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 23.4% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 2.9% |
| Septic fields very limited | 73.9% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.4% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 16.9% |
| Mapped soil | 597,018 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Windthorst | 17% | 37% |
| Duffau | 12% | n/a |
| Renfrow | 7% | n/a |
| Pulexas | 5% | n/a |
| Truce | 4% | 47% |
| Cona | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX337 (2025-09-04)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.4% by land area here, and 17% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 23% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 23% of Montague County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 29.38 in, 6.34 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 35.72 in.
USDA rates 74% 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 40 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 10 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 | 10.5% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
7 flood losses since 2016, $373,995 paid. The worst year was 2020, with 3.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 35.72 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 29.38 in (-6.34) |
| 2025 | 40.85 in (+5.13) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2015: 69.51 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1910: 19.40 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at BOWIE (11 mi away) | 11 |
Homes
| Housing units | 10,348 |
| Median year built | 1979 |
| Built before 1980 | 52% |
| Built 2000 or later | 28% |
| Owner-occupied | 80% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $206,400 |
| Single-family detached | 78% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Montague County
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, TX | 29 mi | 23% | 2% |
| Cooke County, TX | 30 mi | 38% | under 1% |
| Jefferson County, OK | 30 mi | 17% | 1% |
| Wise County, TX | 32 mi | 21% | 5% |
| Love County, OK | 34 mi | 17% | 2% |
| Jack County, TX | 40 mi | 17% | 1% |
| Carter County, OK | 47 mi | 23% | 3% |
| Denton County, TX | 48 mi | 50% | 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