Bear Lake County, ID Shrink-Swell Risk

Shrink-swell potential in Bear Lake County, ID

Low

Soil across 65.2% of Bear Lake County, ID comes back "Low" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 2.68% 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 this number does and doesn't tell you

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

Bear Lake County: the real numbers

Bear Lake 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.

Bear Lake County's rank among Idaho counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Bear Lake County, ID ranks 1,432 most-constrained nationally, and 12 of 44 within Idaho. Bear Lake County, ID is 976 square miles with a population of 6,779.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Yakima County, WA and Auglaize County, OH 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 Idaho

Every county in Idaho is on this site, including Lemhi County, ID and Boundary County, ID. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.