Navarro County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 75% of Navarro County's mapped land, a higher share than 98% of US counties and the 7th highest of 254 Texas counties. A shallow water table limits basements on 8%.
100% 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. 47% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1983.
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 Navarro County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 74.9% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 7.7% |
| Septic fields very limited | 80.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 9.6% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 75.0% |
| Mapped soil | 695,309 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Crockett | 20% | 94% |
| Wilson | 11% | 88% |
| Trinity | 10% | n/a |
| Houston Black | 8% | 91% |
| Heiden | 8% | 80% |
| Burleson | 6% | 84% |
How we count · survey areas TX349 (2025-09-05)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 9.6% by land area here, and 75% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 75% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 75% of Navarro County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 25.70 in, 15.53 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 41.23 in.
USDA rates 80% 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 37 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 23 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 | 35.2% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
10 flood losses since 2016, $46,625 paid. The worst year was 2016, with 4.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 41.23 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 25.70 in (-15.53) |
| 2025 | 48.44 in (+7.21) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2015: 75.86 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1963: 21.84 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at CORSICANA (6 mi away) | 13.7 |
Homes
| Housing units | 22,191 |
| Median year built | 1983 |
| Built before 1980 | 47% |
| Built 2000 or later | 27% |
| Owner-occupied | 69% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $172,600 |
| Single-family detached | 68% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Navarro County
| City | Expansive clay | High water table | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angus | 88% | under 1% | 197 |
| Barry | 80% | under 1% | 101 |
| Blooming Grove | 86% | 0% | 334 |
| Corsicana | 80% | 6% | 9,757 |
| Dawson | 83% | under 1% | 549 |
| Emhouse | 86% | 2% | 102 |
| Eureka | 86% | 0% | 166 |
| Frost | 79% | under 1% | 335 |
| Goodlow | 74% | 24% | 126 |
| Kerens | 88% | 43% | 705 |
| Mildred | 86% | 1% | 139 |
| Navarro | 88% | 0% | 108 |
| Oak Valley | 82% | under 1% | 155 |
| Powell | 86% | 6% | 77 |
| Retreat | 86% | 1% | 273 |
| Rice | 85% | 15% | 420 |
| Richland | 79% | 8% | 174 |
| Streetman | 82% | 12% | 135 |
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ellis County, TX | 28 mi | 72% | 4% |
| Freestone County, TX | 31 mi | 37% | 18% |
| Limestone County, TX | 35 mi | 61% | 10% |
| Henderson County, TX | 38 mi | 25% | 25% |
| Hill County, TX | 39 mi | 53% | 2% |
| Kaufman County, TX | 41 mi | 73% | 16% |
| Anderson County, TX | 50 mi | 11% | 20% |
| Van Zandt County, TX | 52 mi | 46% | 35% |
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