Bowman County, ND Shrink-Swell Risk

Bowman County, ND's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Bowman County, ND: USDA's soil survey rates 53.5% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.51% 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 Bowman County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Bowman County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Bowman County, ND rating "Moderate", 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.

Bowman County's rank among North Dakota counties

Nationally, Bowman County, ND is the 838-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Dakota alone it ranks 12 of 53. Bowman County, ND is 1,162 square miles with a population of 2,886.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Danville city, VA and Colbert County, AL 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 North Dakota

Every county in North Dakota is on this site, including Burke County, ND and Barnes County, ND. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.