Brown County, TX Shrink-Swell Risk

Brown County, TX's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Brown County, TX: USDA's soil survey rates 45.1% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (4.22% linear extensibility). That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

What Brown County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Brown 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 Brown County, TX 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Brown County, TX is the 462-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Texas alone it ranks 108 of 253. Brown County, TX is 944 square miles with a population of 38,631.

For contrast

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

More of Texas

Every county in Texas is on this site, including Gaines County, TX and Hopkins County, TX. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.