Bayfield County, WI Shrink-Swell Risk

What Bayfield County, WI's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Bayfield County, WI's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.49% across 74.8% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Bayfield County, WI at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Bayfield County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Bayfield County, WI 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.

How Bayfield County, WI compares

Nationally, Bayfield County, WI is the 1,573-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Wisconsin alone it ranks 22 of 72. The county spans 1,478 square miles, home to 16,838 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Waller County, TX and Golden Valley County, ND 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 Wisconsin

Every county in Wisconsin is on this site, including Green County, WI and Brown County, WI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.