Allegany County, MD Shrink-Swell Risk

Allegany County, MD's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Allegany County, MD: USDA's soil survey rates 93.4% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.41% linear extensibility). That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.

What Allegany County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Allegany County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Allegany County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Allegany County, MD rating "Low", a geotechnical report is still worthwhile before a build, just less urgent than in a high-risk county. A geotechnical report runs $1,000-$5,000, typically around $2,700. Foundation repair, if a specific lot turns out to differ from the county average, runs $5,000-$15,000.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Allegany County, MD is the 2,606-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Maryland alone it ranks 13 of 24. The county spans 422 square miles, home to 67,097 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Smith County, TN and Hinds County, MS are worth a look for comparison.

How this reading is built, and its real limits · Moisture management: the cheap fix that works on any soil

More of Maryland

Every county in Maryland is on this site, including Caroline County, MD and Queen Anne's County, MD. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.