Arapahoe County, CO Shrink-Swell Risk

Shrink-swell potential in Arapahoe County, CO

Moderate

Soil across 47.6% of Arapahoe County, CO comes back "Moderate" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 3.17% linear extensibility. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

What this number does and doesn't tell you

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Arapahoe County, CO - never a reading for one specific parcel. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Arapahoe County will actually do.

Arapahoe County: the real numbers

Arapahoe County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Arapahoe County, CO ranks 1,068 most-constrained nationally, and 3 of 63 within Colorado. Arapahoe County, CO is 798 square miles with a population of 666,918.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Liberty County, GA and Solano County, CA 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

Elsewhere in Colorado

Every county in Colorado is on this site, including Yuma County, CO and Broomfield County, CO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.