Bristol County, MA Shrink-Swell Risk

Bristol County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Bristol County, MA, 100% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 0.38% linear extensibility on average. 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.

Before you rely on this for one address

Bristol County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Bristol County will actually do.

Budgeting for Bristol County, MA

Bristol 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, Bristol County, MA ranks 3,061 most-constrained nationally, and 14 of 14 within Massachusetts. Bristol County, MA is 553 square miles with a population of 588,593.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Haskell County, OK and Red Willow County, NE 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 Massachusetts

Every county in Massachusetts is on this site, including Hampshire County, MA and Dukes County, MA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.