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Klickitat County, Washington
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 2% of Klickitat County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 5%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. None of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map.
FEMA's flood data list 1 flood losses here since 2016. 44% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1986.
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 Klickitat County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 1.8% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 4.7% |
| Septic fields very limited | 75.0% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 2.8% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 1.8% |
| Mapped soil | 1,108,828 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Underwood | 4% | n/a |
| Goldendale | 4% | n/a |
| Mikkalo | 4% | n/a |
| Rockly | 4% | n/a |
| Gunn | 4% | n/a |
| Bakeoven | 3% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas WA639 (2025-08-28), WA676 (2025-09-02)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 22.10 in, 0.42 in below the 1991-2020 average year of 22.52 in.
USDA rates 75% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 2% and a shallow water table on 5% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Klickitat County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
0% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 11 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 63.3% of its area, in 2 weeks, most recently on the December 16, 2025 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 100% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 0% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
1 flood losses since 2016, $10,816 paid. The worst year was 2022, with 1.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 0 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 22.52 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 22.10 in (-0.42) |
| 2025 | 22.59 in (+0.07) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 1996: 35.66 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1976: 13.09 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at THE DALLES MUNI AP (26 mi away) | 0.6 |
Homes
| Housing units | 10,945 |
| Median year built | 1986 |
| Built before 1980 | 44% |
| Built 2000 or later | 29% |
| Owner-occupied | 77% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $425,300 |
| Single-family detached | 72% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman County, OR | 33 mi | 0% | 1% |
| Yakima County, WA | 40 mi | 2% | 8% |
| Gilliam County, OR | 42 mi | 3% | under 1% |
| Hood River County, OR | 49 mi | 0% | 5% |
| Wasco County, OR | 52 mi | 15% | 2% |
| Skamania County, WA | 57 mi | 4% | 5% |
| Morrow County, OR | 65 mi | 7% | 1% |
| Benton County, WA | 65 mi | 0% | 1% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 2, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status