Ross, Texas
Inside Ross' city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 58% of mapped land, higher than 65% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on under 1%.
That clay share is close to McLennan County's 56%. FEMA's flood data list 2 flood losses since 2016 in the 2 ZIP codes overlapping the city.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in McLennan County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 2 overlapping ZIPs
Foundation repair in Ross
Foundation repair in Ross: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 58% of Ross' mapped land, more than in 65% 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 Ross city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 58.3% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.4% |
| Septic fields very limited | 84.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 7.0% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 58.3% |
| Mapped soil | 985 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Riesel | 23% | n/a |
| Wilson | 16% | 88% |
| Mabank | 13% | n/a |
| Chazos | 12% | n/a |
| Houston Black | 8% | 91% |
| Axtell | 5% | 89% |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 7.0% 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 58% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 100% of McLennan County is in drought on the latest map, and 58% of Ross' mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 85% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in McLennan County
100% of McLennan 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 Ross. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76640 | 52% | 2 | $37,244 |
| 76691 | 48% | 0 | $0 |
Homes
Ross has fewer than 100 housing units in the ACS 2020-2024 estimates, too few for reliable shares.
Nearby cities
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026). Methods · Data status