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Rangerville, Texas
Inside Rangerville's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 56% of mapped land, the 3rd-highest of 19 cities in Cameron County. A shallow water table limits basements on 5%.
That clay share is above Cameron County's 29%. FEMA's flood data list 126 flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 78586 overlapping the city.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Cameron County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP
Foundation repair in Rangerville
Foundation repair in Rangerville: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 56% of Rangerville's mapped land, more than in 62% of Texas cities.
| 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 Rangerville city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 55.5% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 4.6% |
| Septic fields very limited | 58.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 12.4% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 57.7% |
| Mapped soil | 2,256 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Harlingen | 46% | n/a |
| Laredo | 29% | 0% |
| Olmito | 12% | n/a |
| Cameron | 4% | n/a |
| Tiocano | 2% | n/a |
| Reynosa | 2% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 12.4% by land area here, and 58% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 56% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 83.8% of Cameron County is in drought on the latest map, and 56% of Rangerville's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 58% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Cameron County
83.8% of Cameron 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 Rangerville. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 78586 | 100% | 126 | $6.1 million |
Homes
Rangerville has fewer than 100 housing units in the ACS 2020-2024 estimates, too few for reliable shares.
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Indios | 4 mi | 41% | 1% |
| San Benito | 6 mi | 63% | 4% |
| Harlingen | 6 mi | 62% | 1% |
| La Feria | 6 mi | 24% | under 1% |
| Palm Valley | 7 mi | 18% | 4% |
| Primera | 8 mi | 18% | 3% |
| Combes | 10 mi | 26% | 2% |
| Mercedes | 11 mi | 40% | under 1% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026). Methods · Data status