Foundation Conditions in Central Texas

How the soils around 7 Central Texas cities compare, including the highest shrink-swell ratings profiled on this site.

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Central Texas here means the Bell, McLennan, Williamson and Hill county cities: Waco, Killeen, Temple, Belton, Georgetown, Taylor and Hillsboro. Most sit on or near the clay-rich Blackland soils.

Taylor has the highest shrink-swell rating of any city profiled on this site, and Hillsboro, Temple, Killeen, Belton and Waco are also in the high class. Georgetown sits where those clays meet thinner soil over rock to the west, so it reads more moderate with shallow rock.

Across the 7 Central Texas cities profiled here, the soil survey rates shrink-swell high around 6, moderate around 1 and low around 0.

Central Texas Cities Compared

Measured soil conditions around each city center (USDA NRCS soil survey); select a city for its own page
City	County	Most-mapped soil	Shrink-swell (mean LE)	Bedrock/hardpan within 3 ft
Belton	Bell County	Denton	high (6.7%)	yes
Georgetown	Williamson County	Eckrant	moderate (4.8%)	yes
Hillsboro	Hill County	Houston Black	high (9.9%)	no
Killeen	Bell County	Denton	high (7.5%)	yes
Taylor	Williamson County	Branyon	high (11.2%)	no
Temple	Bell County	Austin	high (7.5%)	yes
Waco	McLennan County	Austin	high (5.3%)	yes

In soils like these, seasonal moisture swings are a plausible cause of cracks and sticking doors. The useful questions are about moisture around the foundation, whether movement is settlement or heave and how a repair deals with the cause.

Each city name above opens its own page with measured values and sample counts.

Contractors Serving Central Texas

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Central Texas foundations really worse?

The soil data shows more high shrink-swell cities here than in the East Texas group, but a house's behavior still depends on drainage, trees, construction and how it was built.

Why is Georgetown different from Taylor?

Georgetown lies where clay soils meet thinner soil over rock, so it rates moderate with shallow rock; Taylor's sampled soils are almost all high shrink-swell clay.

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