Parker County, Texas

Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 21% of Parker County's mapped land, a higher share than 71% of US counties. A shallow water table limits basements on 5%.

100% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 48 flood losses here since 2016. 20% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 2002.

Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources

21%

expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes

high water table: limits basements

100%

in drought, October 13, 2026

20%

of homes built before 1980

Soil under Parker County

Expansive clay (limits slab homes)	20.9%
High water table (limits basements)	5.3%
Septic fields very limited	64.3%
Clay swell (LEP, by area)	4.1%
High-swell land (LEP 6%+)	8.6%
Mapped soil	579,981 acres

Soil series	Share here	Series nationally: expansive clay
Windthorst	12%	37%
Aledo	9%	n/a
Duffau	8%	n/a
Venus	7%	n/a
Bolar	7%	n/a
Brackett	5%	0%

Parker County (heavy outline) and nearby counties, shaded by expansive clay share.under 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+

How we count · survey areas TX367 (2025-09-05)

What the numbers mean here

Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.1% by land area here, and 9% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 21% of the mapped land.

Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 21% of Parker County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.

Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 28.60 in, 6.01 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 34.61 in.

USDA rates 64% 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 19 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 8 weeks, most recently on the October 13, 2026 map.

October 21, 2025Share of area in drought, weeklyOctober 13, 2026

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

48 flood losses since 2016, $1.2 million paid. The worst year was 2016, with 23.

Year	Flood losses
2016	23
2017	2
2018	3
2019	1
2020	3
2021	13
2022	0
2023	1
2024	0
2025	2
2026 to date	0

Rain

Average year, 1991-2020	34.61 in
12 months to August 2026	28.60 in (-6.01)
2025	33.24 in (-1.37)
Wettest year since 1895	2015: 53.33 in
Driest year since 1895	2005: 17.45 in
Days with 1 inch or more, normal at WEATHERFORD (3 mi away)	10.1

Homes

Housing units	59,879
Median year built	2002
Built before 1980	20%
Built 2000 or later	54%
Owner-occupied	81%
Median value, owner-occupied	$375,900
Single-family detached	76%

What repairs cost

Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.

Work	Range	Source
Foundation repair, US	$2,200 to $8,200	Fixr, January 27, 2026
Pier-and-beam repair, US	$2,000 to $15,000	Fixr, January 27, 2026
Foundation inspection, US	$300 to $600	Fixr, January 31, 2025

Cities in Parker County

City	Expansive clay	High water table	Homes
Aledo	29%	under 1%	1,794
Annetta	20%	2%	936
Annetta North	28%	2%	141
Annetta South	20%	0%	243
Cool	22%	2%	70
Dennis	17%	under 1%	361
Hudson Oaks	14%	1%	1,078
Millsap	76%	11%	149
Peaster	33%	1%	188
Reno	23%	16%	1,239
Sanctuary	35%	34%	125
Springtown	33%	28%	1,283
Weatherford	18%	7%	14,690
Willow Park	23%	under 1%	2,138

Nearby counties

Place	Distance	Expansive clay	High water table
Hood County, TX	24 mi	18%	9%
Palo Pinto County, TX	30 mi	19%	1%
Tarrant County, TX	30 mi	41%	4%
Wise County, TX	32 mi	21%	5%
Johnson County, TX	38 mi	51%	4%
Jack County, TX	38 mi	17%	1%
Somervell County, TX	39 mi	13%	4%
Erath County, TX	44 mi	20%	6%

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