Park County, Wyoming
USDA's soil survey flags shrink-swell clay on 12% of Park County's mapped land and a shallow water table under basements on 9%, both below the national shares of 15% and 29%. The soil survey maps 34% of the county's land area; these shares describe the mapped part.
51.7% of the county is in drought on the October 13, 2026 Drought Monitor map, down from 57.1% a week earlier. FEMA's flood data list 2 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 Park County
| Expansive clay (limits slab homes) | 11.9% |
| High water table (limits basements) | 9.5% |
| Septic fields very limited | 74.6% |
| Clay swell (LEP, by area) | 3.5% |
| High-swell land (LEP 6%+) | 11.3% |
| Mapped soil | 1,528,757 acres |
| Soil series | Share here | Series nationally: expansive clay |
|---|---|---|
| Hiland | 2% | n/a |
| Fughes-like | 1% | n/a |
| Maysdorf | 1% | n/a |
| Shingle | 1% | n/a |
| Taluce-like | 1% | n/a |
| Apron | 1% | n/a |
How we count · survey areas WY629 (2025-09-04), WY656 (2025-09-04), WY665 (2025-09-04)
What the numbers mean here
Rain over the 12 months to August 2026: 22.68 in, 0.38 in above the 1991-2020 average year of 22.30 in.
USDA rates 75% of the land very limited for septic absorption fields.
With shrink-swell clay on 12% and a shallow water table on 9% of the land, the soil survey points to neither problem across most of Park County; conditions still vary lot by lot.
Drought
51.7% of the county is in drought (D1 or worse) on the October 13, 2026 map. Part of the county was in drought in 48 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 | 51.7% |
| D2 severe or worse | 36.5% |
| D3 extreme or worse | 1% |
| D4 exceptional | 0% |
Flood losses since 2016
2 flood losses since 2016, $39,192 paid. The worst year was 2018, with 1.
| Year | Flood losses |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 0 |
| 2017 | 1 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2019 | 0 |
| 2020 | 0 |
| 2021 | 0 |
| 2022 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 |
| 2024 | 0 |
| 2025 | 0 |
| 2026 to date | 0 |
Rain
| Average year, 1991-2020 | 22.30 in |
| 12 months to August 2026 | 22.68 in (+0.38) |
| 2025 | 25.51 in (+3.21) |
| Wettest year since 1895 | 2017: 29.73 in |
| Driest year since 1895 | 1919: 13.27 in |
| Days with 1 inch or more, normal at CODY (24 mi away) | 0.7 |
Homes
| Housing units | 14,989 |
| Median year built | 1983 |
| Built before 1980 | 46% |
| Built 2000 or later | 26% |
| Owner-occupied | 75% |
| Median value, owner-occupied | $400,500 |
| Single-family detached | 77% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teton County, WY | 51 mi | 7% | 6% |
| Carbon County, MT | 58 mi | 30% | 2% |
| Hot Springs County, WY | 78 mi | 17% | 3% |
| Big Horn County, WY | 79 mi | 12% | 4% |
| Stillwater County, MT | 81 mi | 26% | 5% |
| Park County, MT | 81 mi | 11% | 4% |
| Sweet Grass County, MT | 92 mi | 16% | 5% |
| Teton County, ID | 95 mi | 5% | 12% |
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