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Temple, Texas
Inside Temple's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 51% of mapped land, higher than 58% of Texas cities. A shallow water table limits basements on under 1%.
That clay share is close to Bell County's 55%. FEMA's flood data list 34 flood losses since 2016 in the 3 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 37,299 homes, 36% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1991.
Data as of November 3, 2026 · sources · in Bell County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 3 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Foundation repair in Temple
Foundation repair in Temple: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 51% of Temple's mapped land, more than in 58% of Texas cities.
About 24,200 of Temple's 37,299 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 Temple city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 50.9% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 0.1% |
| Septic fields very limited | 72.4% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 8.4% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 40.0% |
| Urban land, not rated | 5.9% |
| Mapped soil | 50,573 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Black | 18% | 91% |
| Austin | 17% | 93% |
| Stephen | 8% | n/a |
| Purves | 6% | 40% |
| Heiden | 6% | 80% |
| Denton | 5% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 8.4% by land area here, and 40% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 51% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 99.7% of Bell County is in drought on the latest map, and 51% of Temple's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
USDA rates 72% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Temple covers 74.2 square miles of land and counts 37,299 housing units, about 503 per square mile.
52% of Temple's occupied homes are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $239,000; 42% of all homes in the city date from 2000 or later.
The largest soil series under Temple is Houston Black, on 18% of the mapped land, followed by Austin at 17%.
USDA's soil survey maps 50,573 acres inside Temple's city limits.
Drought in Bell County
99.7% of Bell County is in drought (D1 or worse) on the November 3, 2026 map. County detail.
Flood losses by ZIP code
FEMA flood records since 2016 in the ZIP codes that overlap Temple. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 76502 | 45% | 15 | $674,876 |
| 76504 | 28% | 9 | $290,690 |
| 76501 | 21% | 10 | $137,710 |
Homes in Temple
| Housing units | 37,299 |
| Median year built | 1991 |
| Built before 1980 | 36% |
| Built 2000 or later | 42% |
| Owner-occupied | 52% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $239,000 |
| Single-family detached | 65% |
Nearby cities
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · US Drought Monitor (November 3, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status