HomeWashingtonKittitas County
Kittitas County, Washington
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 5% of Kittitas County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 14%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. 86.3% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 39 flood losses here since 2016, 10% of them in buildings with basements. 36% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1993.
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 Kittitas County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 4.9% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 14.1% |
| Septic fields very limited | 84.8% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.1% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 5.0% |
| Mapped soil | 1,458,249 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Jumpe | 4% | n/a |
| Vantage | 3% | n/a |
| Nard | 3% | n/a |
| Loneridge | 3% | n/a |
| Vabus | 2% | n/a |
| Gilpar | 2% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas WA607 (2025-08-28), WA637 (2025-08-28), WA680 (2025-08-28), WA681 (2025-08-28)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 34.28 in, 1.50 in above the 1991-2020 average year of 32.78 in.
USDA rates 85% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 5% and a shallow water table on 14% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Kittitas County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
86.3% 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 13 weeks, most recently on the September 15, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 86.3% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
39 flood losses since 2016, $1.0 million paid. The worst year was 2025, with 24. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 10% basements, 7% slabs, 62% crawl spaces, 21% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 17 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 2 |
| 2019 | 1 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 2 |
| 2022 | 2 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 24 |
| 2026 to date | 1 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 32.78 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 34.28 in (+1.50) |
| 2025 | 31.65 in (-1.13) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1933: 47.40 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1952: 17.38 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at ELLENSBURG (12 mi away) | 0.1 |
Homes
| Housing units | 24,674 |
| Median year built | 1993 |
| Built before 1980 | 36% |
| Built 2000 or later | 38% |
| Owner-occupied | 62% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $497,400 |
| Single-family detached | 70% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yakima County, WA | 46 mi | 2% | 8% |
| Chelan County, WA | 51 mi | under 1% | 2% |
| Grant County, WA | 57 mi | 0% | 2% |
| King County, WA | 59 mi | under 1% | 38% |
| Douglas County, WA | 63 mi | under 1% | 5% |
| Pierce County, WA | 70 mi | 2% | 34% |
| Snohomish County, WA | 82 mi | 1% | 72% |
| Benton County, WA | 83 mi | 0% | 1% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (August 28, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status