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Pelican Bay, Texas
Inside Pelican Bay's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 30% of mapped land. A shallow water table limits basements on 55%, the highest of 35 cities in Tarrant County.
That clay share is below Tarrant County's 41%. FEMA's flood data list 17 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 76020 overlapping the city. Of its 843 homes, 19% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1996.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Tarrant County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
of homes built before 1980
Foundation repair in Pelican Bay
Foundation repair in Pelican Bay: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 30% of Pelican Bay's mapped land.
About 300 of Pelican Bay's 843 homes are detached houses.
| Who designs the repair | The ASCE Texas Section's repair guidelines say a Texas-licensed engineer should evaluate the foundation and design the repair (2022 guidelines) |
| Prices | Cost guide ranges compared |
Soil under Pelican Bay city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 29.6% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 55.0% |
| Septic fields very limited | 76.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 12.8% |
| Mapped soil | 487 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Nimrod | 24% | n/a |
| Windthorst | 20% | 37% |
| Selden | 16% | n/a |
| Rader | 12% | 30% |
| Keeter | 10% | n/a |
| Duffau | 5% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.3% by land area here, and 13% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 30% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of Tarrant County is in drought on the latest map, and 30% of Pelican Bay's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
On 55% of Pelican Bay's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
USDA rates 77% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Tarrant County
100% of Tarrant County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Pelican Bay. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76020 | 100% | 17 | $432,724 |
Homes in Pelican Bay
| Housing units | 843 |
| Median year built | 1996 |
| Built before 1980 | 19% |
| Built 2000 or later | 43% |
| Owner-occupied | 56% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $181,800 |
| Single-family detached | 34% |
Nearby cities
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status