Val Verde County, Texas
Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 1% of Val Verde County's mapped land. A shallow water table limits basements on under 1%.
95.6% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 15 flood losses here since 2016. 46% 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 Val Verde County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.1% |
| High water table (limits basements) | under 0.1% |
| Septic fields very limited | 83.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.0% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 2.8% |
| Mapped soil | 2,069,031 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Ector | 26% | 0% |
| Langtry | 10% | n/a |
| Dev | 6% | n/a |
| Zorra | 5% | n/a |
| Amistad | 5% | n/a |
| Olmos | 4% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas TX465 (2025-09-05)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 17.41 in, 1.33 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 18.74 in.
USDA rates 83% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 1% and a shallow water table on under 1% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Val Verde County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
95.6% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 52 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 99% of its area, in 3 weeks, most recently on the April 7, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 95.6% |
| D2 severe or worse | 13.1% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
15 flood losses since 2016, $177,077 paid. The worst year was 2026, with 7.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 7 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 18.74 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 17.41 in (-1.33) |
| 2025 | 11.93 in (-6.81) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1900: 34.52 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1956: 5.12 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at HUDSPETH RVR RCH (9 mi away) | 7.2 |
Homes
| Housing units | 18,711 |
| Median year built | 1983 |
| Built before 1980 | 46% |
| Built 2000 or later | 24% |
| Owner-occupied | 69% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $164,600 |
| Single-family detached | 71% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Cities in Val Verde County
| City | Expansive clay | High water table | Homes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Del Rio | 7% | 1% | 13,523 |
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edwards County, TX | 51 mi | 4% | 0% |
| Kinney County, TX | 57 mi | 10% | 1% |
| Sutton County, TX | 58 mi | 19% | under 1% |
| Crockett County, TX | 60 mi | 11% | 0% |
| Terrell County, TX | 61 mi | 1% | 0% |
| Schleicher County, TX | 80 mi | 32% | 0% |
| Real County, TX | 80 mi | 9% | 0% |
| Uvalde County, TX | 90 mi | 23% | 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