Reeves County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 11% of Reeves County's mapped land, a higher share than 57% of US counties. A shallow water table limits basements on 1%.
14.8% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 1 flood losses here since 2016. 56% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1975.
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 Reeves County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 10.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 1.1% |
| Septic fields very limited | 65.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.7% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 11.3% |
| Mapped soil | 1,688,384 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Reakor | 18% | n/a |
| Delnorte | 16% | n/a |
| Verhalen | 8% | n/a |
| Hoban | 6% | n/a |
| Chilicotal | 6% | n/a |
| Holloman | 6% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX389 (2025-09-05)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 9.68 in, 1.58 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 11.26 in.
USDA rates 65% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 11% and a shallow water table on 1% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Reeves County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
14.8% 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 9 weeks, most recently on the September 29, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 14.8% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
1 flood losses since 2016, $1,020 paid. The worst year was 2016, with 1.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 11.26 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 9.68 in (-1.58) |
| 2025 | 11.23 in (-0.03) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1941: 24.11 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 2011: 2.84 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at BALMORHEA (22 mi away) | 2.7 |
Homes
| Housing units | 5,167 |
| Median year built | 1975 |
| Built before 1980 | 56% |
| Built 2000 or later | 24% |
| Owner-occupied | 74% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $118,000 |
| Single-family detached | 71% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Reeves County
| City | Expansive clay | High water table | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balmorhea | 69% | 69% | 176 |
| Town of Pecos | 1% | 18% | 4,228 |
| Toyah | 0% | 0% | 14 |
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward County, TX | 39 mi | 4% | 0% |
| Loving County, TX | 43 mi | 2% | 4% |
| Culberson County, TX | 49 mi | 2% | under 1% |
| Jeff Davis County, TX | 55 mi | 13% | under 1% |
| Winkler County, TX | 56 mi | 0% | 0% |
| Crane County, TX | 69 mi | 1% | under 1% |
| Pecos County, TX | 70 mi | 8% | 1% |
| Ector County, TX | 79 mi | under 1% | under 1% |
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