Outagamie County, Wisconsin
A shallow water table limits basements on 54% of Outagamie County's mapped land, a higher share than 70% of US counties. Shrink-swell clay limits houses without basements on 20%.
0.5% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map. FEMA's flood data list 47 flood losses here since 2016, 31% of them in buildings with basements. 50% of homes were built before 1980, against 50% nationally; the median home dates from 1980.
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 Outagamie County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 19.6% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 54.5% |
| Septic fields very limited | 85.2% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 20.8% |
| Mapped soil | 412,659 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: high water table |
|---|---|---|
| Hortonville | 18% | n/a |
| Shiocton | 7% | n/a |
| Kewaunee | 5% | n/a |
| Symco | 5% | n/a |
| Keowns | 5% | n/a |
| Manawa | 5% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas WI087 (2025-09-10)
What the numbers mean here
Clay swell averages a linear extensibility of 3.5% by land area here, and 21% of the land reaches USDA's high class (6% or more). Clay like that swells when wet and shrinks when dry, under 20% of the mapped land.
On 54% of Outagamie County's mapped land, soil stays saturated within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year, which is basement depth.
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 33.11 in, 0.08 in above the 1991-2020 average year of 33.03 in.
USDA rates 85% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
Drought
0.5% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 27 of the last 52 weeks; the most was 100% of its area, in 8 weeks, most recently on the January 6, 2026 map.
| Category, October 13, 2026 | Share of county |
|---|---|
| D0 abnormally dry or worse | 5.9% |
| D1 moderate drought or worse | 0.5% |
| D2 severe or worse | 0% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 0% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
47 flood losses since 2016, $1.8 million paid. The worst year was 2026, with 35. Foundations of the buildings, where recorded: 31% basements, 28% slabs, 36% crawl spaces, 5% elevated. Median water depth outside the building: 16 in.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 |
| 2017 | 0 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 4 |
| 2020 | 1 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 1 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 1 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 35 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 33.03 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 33.11 in (+0.08) |
| 2025 | 29.62 in (-3.41) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2019: 47.98 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1895: 18.84 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at APPLETON (10 mi away) | 6.8 |
Homes
| Housing units | 80,915 |
| Median year built | 1980 |
| Built before 1980 | 50% |
| Built 2000 or later | 25% |
| Owner-occupied | 72% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $267,300 |
| Single-family detached | 71% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County, WI | 23 mi | 47% | 32% |
| Winnebago County, WI | 25 mi | 33% | 48% |
| Waupaca County, WI | 25 mi | 1% | 46% |
| Calumet County, WI | 27 mi | 44% | 42% |
| Shawano County, WI | 29 mi | under 1% | 50% |
| Menominee County, WI | 41 mi | 0% | 33% |
| Oconto County, WI | 42 mi | 0% | 51% |
| Waushara County, WI | 44 mi | 5% | 36% |
Sources: USDA SSURGO (September 10, 2025) · US Drought Monitor (October 13, 2026) · FEMA NFIP v3 (September 9, 2026) · NOAA (August 2026) · Census ACS 2020-2024. Methods · Data status