Uvalde County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 23% of Uvalde County's mapped land, a higher share than 74% of US counties. A shallow water table limits basements on under 1%.
89.5% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 42 flood losses here since 2016, 0% of them in buildings with basements. 44% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1983.
Data as of October 13, 2026 · sources
expansive clay: shrink-swell limits slab homes
high water table: limits basements
in drought, October 13, 2026
of homes built before 1980
Soil under Uvalde County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 23.4% |
| High water table (limits basements) | under 0.1% |
| Septic fields very limited | 81.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 4.8% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 23.0% |
| Mapped soil | 1,001,145 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Uvalde | 11% | n/a |
| Knippa | 10% | n/a |
| Ector | 8% | 0% |
| Olmos | 7% | n/a |
| Real | 7% | n/a |
| Montell | 5% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX463 (2025-09-05)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 4.8% by land area here, and 23% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 23% of the mapped land.
Clay shrinks as it dries: 89.5% of the county is in drought on the latest map, and 23% of Uvalde County's mapped land has shrink-swell clay.
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 33.45 in, 7.74 in above the 1991-2020 average year of 25.71 in.
USDA rates 82% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought
89.5% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 38 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 17 weeks, most recently on the April 14, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 89.5% |
| D2 severe or worse | 27.3% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0.2% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
42 flood losses since 2016, $3.8 million paid. The worst year was 2026, with 37. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 92% slabs, 8% crawl spaces. Median water depth outside the building: 30 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 1 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 37 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 25.71 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 33.45 in (+7.74) |
| 2025 | 21.87 in (-3.84) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1919: 44.87 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1956: 9.90 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at SABINAL (18 mi away) | 7.9 |
Homes
| Housing units | 10,095 |
| Median year built | 1983 |
| Built before 1980 | 44% |
| Built 2000 or later | 23% |
| Owner-occupied | 71% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $150,800 |
| Single-family detached | 71% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Uvalde County
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real County, TX | 33 mi | 9% | 0% |
| Zavala County, TX | 34 mi | 28% | under 1% |
| Kinney County, TX | 39 mi | 10% | 1% |
| Medina County, TX | 40 mi | 33% | under 1% |
| Bandera County, TX | 42 mi | 17% | 0% |
| Frio County, TX | 52 mi | 10% | under 1% |
| Kerr County, TX | 54 mi | 33% | under 1% |
| Maverick County, TX | 54 mi | 33% | under 1% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 5, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status