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Sabinal, Texas

Inside Sabinal's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 48% of mapped land, higher than 55% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on 0%.

That clay share is above Uvalde County's 23%. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 78881 overlapping the city. Of its 464 homes, 52% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1978.

Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Uvalde County

48%

expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes

0%

high water table: limits basements

0

flood losses since 2016 in 1 overlapping ZIP

52%

of homes built before 1980

Foundation repair in Sabinal

Foundation repair in Sabinal: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 48% of Sabinal's mapped land, more than in 55% of Texas cities.

About 300 of Sabinal's 464 homes are detached houses.

Who designs the repairThe ASCE Texas Section's repair guidelines say a Texas-licensed engineer should evaluate the foundation and design the repair (2022 guidelines)
PricesCost guide ranges compared

Soil under Sabinal city limits

Expansive clay (limits slab homes)47.8%
High water table (limits basements)0.0%
Septic fields very limited81.7%
Clay swell (LEP, by area)5.8%
High-swell land (LEP 6%+)47.8%
Mapped soil761 acres
Soil seriesShare hereSeries nationally: expansive clay
Knippa48%n/a
Uvalde20%n/a
Olmos13%n/a
Castroville4%n/a
Sabenyo3%n/a
Montell2%n/a
Uvalde CountySabinal
Sabinal city limits inside Uvalde County, shaded by the city's expansive clay share.under 10%10-25%25-40%40-60%60%+

How we count

What the numbers mean here

Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 5.8% by land area here, and 48% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 48% of the mapped land.

Clay shrinks as it dries: 89.5% of Uvalde County is in drought on the latest map, and 48% of Sabinal's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.

USDA rates 82% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.

Drought in Uvalde County

89.5% of Uvalde County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. County detail.

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

Flood losses by ZIP code

FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Sabinal. ZIP areas reach past city limits.

ZIPShare of city landFlood lossesPaid
78881100%0$0

Homes in Sabinal

Housing units464
Median year built1978
Built before 198052%
Built 2000 or later13%
Owner-occupied75%
Median value, owner-occupied$80,100
Single-family detached70%

Nearby cities

PlaceDistanceExpansive clayHigh water table
Hondo 19 mi 70% under 1%
Uvalde 20 mi 23% under 1%
Leakey 33 mi 32% 0%
Devine 36 mi 16% under 1%
Bandera 37 mi 56% 0%
Castroville 37 mi 60% under 1%
Pearsall 37 mi 1% 1%
Natalia 38 mi 10% under 1%

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