Bath County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

Shrink-swell potential in Bath County, KY

Moderate

Soil across 50.9% of Bath County, KY comes back "Moderate" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 3.42% linear extensibility. A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

What this number does and doesn't tell you

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Bath County, KY - 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 Bath County will actually do.

Bath County: the real numbers

Bath 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.

How Bath County, KY compares

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Bath County, KY ranks 897 most-constrained nationally, and 34 of 120 within Kentucky. Bath County covers 278 square miles and counts 12,951 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Cameron County, PA and Pushmataha County, OK 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 Kentucky

Every county in Kentucky is on this site, including Anderson County, KY and Robertson County, KY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.