Texas: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

254 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Brazoria County (79), lowest is Bailey County (25). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Aransas County.

Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.

The physiographic regions inside Texas

State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Texas and why each behaves the way it does.

Blackland Prairie and Black Belt

The foundation repair capital of the United States. These are Vertisols: clays so expansive that the ground itself opens fissures you can put an arm into during drought, then swells shut after rain. Slabs crack here in houses with faultless drainage, because water is not the mechanism — volume change is.

58 counties: Atascosa County, Bastrop County, Bell County, Bexar County, Blanco County, Bosque County, Burleson County, Burnet County, Caldwell County, Collin County, Colorado County, Comal County, Comanche County, Cooke County, Coryell County, Dallas County, DeWitt County, Denton County, Ellis County, Falls County, Fannin County, Fayette County, Freestone County, Goliad County, Gonzales County, Grayson County, Guadalupe County, Hamilton County, Hays County, Hill County, Hood County, Hunt County, Jackson County, Johnson County, Karnes County, Kaufman County, Lampasas County, Lavaca County, Lee County, Leon County, Limestone County, Llano County, Madison County, McLennan County, Milam County, Mills County, Montague County, Navarro County, Parker County, Robertson County, Rockwall County, Somervell County, Tarrant County, Travis County, Victoria County, Williamson County, Wilson County, Wise County

High Plains

The water table is tens of metres down and rainfall is low. Basement damp here is nearly always condensation or a failed supply line rather than groundwater — and that distinction is worth thousands of dollars.

46 counties: Andrews County, Armstrong County, Bailey County, Borden County, Briscoe County, Carson County, Castro County, Cochran County, Crosby County, Dallam County, Dawson County, Deaf Smith County, Dickens County, Ector County, Floyd County, Gaines County, Garza County, Glasscock County, Gray County, Hale County, Hansford County, Hartley County, Hockley County, Howard County, Hutchinson County, Lamb County, Loving County, Lubbock County, Lynn County, Martin County, Midland County, Mitchell County, Moore County, Motley County, Ochiltree County, Oldham County, Parmer County, Potter County, Randall County, Scurry County, Sherman County, Sterling County, Swisher County, Terry County, Winkler County, Yoakum County

Permian red beds

The red clay under Oklahoma City and Fort Worth. Strongly expansive, and because the climate swings between drought and heavy spring storms, the wet-dry cycle is severe. Pier-and-beam and post-tension slabs both move here.

34 counties: Archer County, Baylor County, Callahan County, Childress County, Clay County, Collingsworth County, Cottle County, Donley County, Eastland County, Erath County, Fisher County, Foard County, Hall County, Hardeman County, Haskell County, Hemphill County, Jack County, Jones County, Kent County, King County, Knox County, Lipscomb County, Nolan County, Palo Pinto County, Roberts County, Shackelford County, Stephens County, Stonewall County, Taylor County, Throckmorton County, Wheeler County, Wichita County, Wilbarger County, Young County

Gulf Coastal Plain

Extremely variable over short distances: deep sand on the ridges, saturated clay in the flats between them. High rainfall and a seasonally high water table make crawlspace and slab moisture the dominant complaint rather than structural movement.

30 counties: Anderson County, Angelina County, Bowie County, Camp County, Cass County, Cherokee County, Delta County, Franklin County, Gregg County, Harrison County, Henderson County, Hopkins County, Houston County, Lamar County, Marion County, Morris County, Nacogdoches County, Panola County, Rains County, Red River County, Rusk County, Sabine County, San Augustine County, Shelby County, Smith County, Titus County, Trinity County, Upshur County, Van Zandt County, Wood County

Edwards Plateau and Balcones

Rock close to the surface, so footings often bear directly on limestone — which does not move. The problem here is the opposite one: karst. Water moves through fissures in concentrated routes, and slabs poured over infilled solution features settle unevenly.

25 counties: Bandera County, Brown County, Coke County, Coleman County, Concho County, Edwards County, Frio County, Gillespie County, Kendall County, Kerr County, Kimble County, Kinney County, Mason County, Maverick County, McCulloch County, Medina County, Menard County, Real County, Runnels County, San Saba County, Schleicher County, Sutton County, Tom Green County, Uvalde County, Zavala County

Texas Gulf Coast prairie

Highly expansive clay and a shallow water table on ground with essentially no slope. Houston is the largest single market for residential foundation repair in the country and this soil is why. Add regional subsidence from groundwater withdrawal and the movement is not always the house's fault.

23 counties: Austin County, Brazoria County, Brazos County, Chambers County, Fort Bend County, Galveston County, Grimes County, Hardin County, Harris County, Jasper County, Jefferson County, Liberty County, Matagorda County, Montgomery County, Newton County, Orange County, Polk County, San Jacinto County, Tyler County, Walker County, Waller County, Washington County, Wharton County

South Texas Plains

Expansive clay in a dry climate, which is the combination that produces the sharpest wet-dry cycle. Long droughts shrink the profile hard, then one wet season swells it back. Footings move seasonally and the movement is not uniform across a slab.

22 counties: Aransas County, Bee County, Brooks County, Calhoun County, Cameron County, Dimmit County, Duval County, Hidalgo County, Jim Hogg County, Jim Wells County, Kenedy County, Kleberg County, La Salle County, Live Oak County, McMullen County, Nueces County, Refugio County, San Patricio County, Starr County, Webb County, Willacy County, Zapata County

Trans-Pecos desert

Arid, deep water table, minimal seepage risk. Two local hazards instead: gypsum, which dissolves and leaves voids, and collapsible fan deposits that settle abruptly the first time they are thoroughly wetted — often by a leaking irrigation line.

16 counties: Brewster County, Crane County, Crockett County, Culberson County, El Paso County, Hudspeth County, Irion County, Jeff Davis County, Pecos County, Presidio County, Reagan County, Reeves County, Terrell County, Upton County, Val Verde County, Ward County

Page data updated 2026-08-12