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Stratford, Texas
Inside Stratford's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 77% of mapped land, higher than 82% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on 2%.
That clay share is above Sherman County's 40%. FEMA's flood data list no flood losses since 2016 in ZIP code 79084 overlapping the city. Of its 641 homes, 81% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1961.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources · in Sherman 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 Stratford
Foundation repair in Stratford: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 77% of Stratford's mapped land, more than in 82% of Texas cities.
About 600 of Stratford's 641 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 Stratford city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 77.1% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 2.3% |
| Septic fields very limited | 77.1% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 6.0% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 58.9% |
| Mapped soil | 1,481 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Sherm | 61% | 95% |
| Gruver | 21% | n/a |
| Sunray | 10% | n/a |
| Conlen | 3% | n/a |
| Hansford | 2% | n/a |
| Dumas | 2% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 6.0% by land area here, and 59% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 77% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 21.3% of Sherman County is in drought on the latest map, and 77% of Stratford's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 77% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought in Sherman County
21.3% of Sherman 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 Stratford. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 79084 | 100% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Stratford
| Housing units | 641 |
| Median year built | 1961 |
| Built before 1980 | 81% |
| Built 2000 or later | 11% |
| Owner-occupied | 79% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $129,900 |
| Single-family detached | 91% |
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