In what US cities do houses not have basements?

I currently live in St. Louis and was planning to move to Dallas, when I was shocked to find that houses there do not have basements. So it made me wonder how many other cities have houses with no basements.

Public Comments

1. I've never heard of this before!
2. Many in the Southwest don't, but there's always an exception.
3. houston, tx.
4. I know Northern California does not have many.
5. The cities where the local police use tasers . . . Probably.
6. Wow... well, I was gonna say Dallas and Houston... but there you go. The rain is too seasonal, so the foundation shifts too much. Live & learn.
7. HARDLY ANY CITIES IN THE SOUTH HAVE HOUSES WITH BASEMENTS. wE DO NOT GET THAT COLD HERE THEREFORE WE DO NOT NEED TO STORE HEATING FUEL OR COAL. i THINK THE NORTH HAS BASEMENTS BECAUSE OF THE TEMPERATURE IN THE WINTER.
8. in many southern states 75% dont have them
9. I live in the southeast and it is rare for a house to have a basement, Some do but the majority do not. Mine has a crawl space which is exactly what it sounds like. Simply enough room to crawl.
10. Many states as a whole do not have basements...Nevada for instance does not. It depends on the soil they have too. If it is clay or hard soil, it is more for them to dig or blast the hole for the basement, and if you want it, it is going to cost you an arm and a leg. I'm from Iowa, so I was used to having a basement as well...I now live south of Dallas, no basement:(
11. A lot of houses in LA and along the west coast don't have basements, as that area has a great deal of underground natural gas pockets. Digging too deep can cause a "boom". This is the same reason LA and Seattle don't have subways.
12. Southern States rarely have them
13. We don't have 'em in Houston, because we're so close to sea level, they'd likely flood. I used to live in Dallas and they don't have 'em there, either, but I don't know what their excuse is. :-)
14. No basements in Phoenix, AZ and I assume other desert cities in AZ as well. I think any place where they don't have to bury the plumbing 6 feet down to keep it from freezing you won't find basements. I've lived in Phoenix - no basements Seattle - they have basements, but not all houses have them. One house I owned there was just built on footings around the perimeter of the structure - dirt under the actual house. Ft. Collins Colorado - most homes have basements, central air conditioning is mandatory for new construction for some weird reason. New England - homes have basements.
15. Homes built without basements are generally located in areas with shifting soil and a high water table. Most any place where there is an exposure to radon may preclude the use of basements, as well. But you might be able to locate homes with crawlspaces that can be converted to basements.
16. You have to dig a foundation to below the frost line. If you do that in a place that gets cold, you might almost as well go a bit farther and put a basement in. Cleveland OH area-- most houses have basements, but not all. In some towns, you can't build a basement legally without a sump pump for floods.
17. The structural reason for having basements it to get the foundation of the house below the freeze line. The more south you go, the higher the freeze line to a point it isn't necessary. Building a house with a basement costs a lot more than building one without. Therefore the "cheaper" the home the more south you are, the less likely it is to have a basement.
18. Cities located in the southern regions of the following states: Florida Alabama Mississippi Texas just to name a few.
19. In flood areas, and in areas where there is high ground water and it could easily seep into a basement. Also in areas where the bedrock is close to the surface and digging down would be almost impossible.
20. I know New Orleans does not have basements. They have to bury their dead in above-ground cemetaries. If you dig a hole 3 feet deep in some spots, you'll strike water.
21. Alot of houses here in the southeast don't have basements. I've heard that people that want houses built have to pay an extra $50,000 - $75,000 to have a basement. I came from New England where most houses have them, then moving to Atlanta, there aren't any. My parents live in Virginia and nobody seems to have them their either.
22. I grew up in the southeast, and have visited friends and family in AR, TX, TN, GA, NC, FL, AL, MS and LA. I can remember exactly one basement. They're quite unusual here.