Tyler, Texas
Inside Tyler's city limits, shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 1% of mapped land. A shallow water table limits basements on 10%.
That clay share is close to Smith County's 3%. FEMA's flood data list 48 flood losses since 2016 in the 4 ZIP codes overlapping the city. Of its 46,019 homes, 53% were built before 1980; the median dates from 1978.
Data as of November 3, 2026 · sources · in Smith County
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
flood losses since 2016 in 4 overlapping ZIPs
of homes built before 1980
Foundation repair in Tyler
Foundation repair in Tyler: shrink-swell clay limits slab homes on 1% of Tyler's mapped land.
About 28,500 of Tyler's 46,019 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 Tyler city limits
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 0.7% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 9.5% |
| Septic fields very limited | 43.5% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.3% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 2.0% |
| Urban land, not rated | 19.6% |
| Mapped soil | 37,349 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Wolfpen | 21% | n/a |
| Pickton | 16% | n/a |
| Cuthbert | 9% | 0% |
| Oakwood | 7% | n/a |
| Kirvin | 6% | n/a |
| Mattex | 5% | n/a |
What the numbers mean here
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on 10% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Tyler; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Tyler covers 57.9 square miles of land and counts 46,019 housing units, about 795 per square mile.
55% of Tyler's occupied homes are owner-occupied, and the median owner-occupied home is valued at $235,300; 26% of all homes in the city date from 2000 or later.
The largest soil series under Tyler is Wolfpen, on 21% of the mapped land, followed by Pickton at 16%.
Clay swell, measured as linear extensibility, averages 2.3% across Tyler's 37,349 mapped acres.
Drought in Smith County
100% of Smith 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 Tyler. ZIP areas reach past city limits.
| ZIP | Share of city land | Flood losses | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 75703 | 32% | 23 | $484,858 |
| 75701 | 25% | 13 | $642,569 |
| 75702 | 23% | 12 | $329,094 |
| 75711 | 0% | 0 | $0 |
Homes in Tyler
| Housing units | 46,019 |
| Median year built | 1978 |
| Built before 1980 | 53% |
| Built 2000 or later | 26% |
| Owner-occupied | 55% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $235,300 |
| Single-family detached | 62% |
Nearby cities
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noonday | 7 mi | 6% | 14% |
| New Chapel Hill | 8 mi | 0% | 20% |
| Whitehouse | 8 mi | 5% | 24% |
| Chandler | 10 mi | 4% | 53% |
| Bullard | 12 mi | 1% | 19% |
| Lindale | 14 mi | 1% | 10% |
| Winona | 14 mi | 1% | 25% |
| Hideaway | 15 mi | 0% | 4% |
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