Brown County, SD Shrink-Swell Risk

Shrink-swell potential in Brown County, SD

Moderate

Soil across 46.3% of Brown County, SD comes back "Moderate" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 3.55% linear extensibility. Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

What this number does and doesn't tell you

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Brown County, SD - never a reading for one specific parcel. A site-specific soil report, usually $1,000-$5,000, is what an engineer would actually pull before designing a foundation on a lot in Brown County.

Brown County: the real numbers

Brown 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 Brown County, SD compares

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Brown County, SD ranks 806 most-constrained nationally, and 55 of 66 within South Dakota. The county spans 1,713 square miles, home to 37,495 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Livingston Parish, LA and Izard County, AR 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 South Dakota

Every county in South Dakota is on this site, including Marshall County, SD and Grant County, SD. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.