Summit County, Utah
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 9% of Summit County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 6%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. The soil survey maps 59% of the county's land area; these shares describe the mapped part.
100% 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. 21% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1995.
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 Summit County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 9.0% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 5.9% |
| Septic fields very limited | 90.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 9.0% |
| Mapped soil | 705,774 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Fewkes | 10% | n/a |
| Skutum | 9% | n/a |
| Hades | 6% | n/a |
| Lucky Star | 5% | n/a |
| Heiners | 5% | n/a |
| Ant Flat | 5% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas UT613 (2025-08-27), UT647 (2025-08-28), WY638 (2025-09-04)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 24.21 in, 1.84 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 26.05 in.
USDA rates 91% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 9% and a shallow water table on 6% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Summit County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
100% 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 100% of its area, in 52 weeks, most recently on the October 13, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 100% |
| D2 severe or worse | 11.1% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
15 flood losses since 2016, $67,191 paid. The worst year was 2023, with 8.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 2 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 8 |
| 2024 | 2 |
| 2025 | 1 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 26.05 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 24.21 in (-1.84) |
| 2025 | 20.90 in (-5.15) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1909: 43.11 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1939: 15.86 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at KAMAS (23 mi away) | 0.6 |
Homes
| Housing units | 26,549 |
| Median year built | 1995 |
| Built before 1980 | 21% |
| Built 2000 or later | 39% |
| Owner-occupied | 80% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $1.1 million |
| Single-family detached | 63% |
What repairs cost
Published ranges from cost guides, not quotes. More sources, and where they disagree.
Nearby counties
| Place | Distance | Expansive clay | High water table |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan County, UT | 35 mi | 15% | 2% |
| Uinta County, WY | 36 mi | n/a | n/a |
| Wasatch County, UT | 38 mi | 11% | 5% |
| Duchesne County, UT | 49 mi | 1% | 3% |
| Salt Lake County, UT | 52 mi | 13% | 17% |
| Rich County, UT | 54 mi | 1% | 7% |
| Weber County, UT | 55 mi | 7% | 20% |
| Utah County, UT | 64 mi | 7% | 10% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 4, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status