Brown County, WI Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Moderate

Brown County, WI: USDA's soil survey rates 57.9% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.64% 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 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. 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.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Brown County, WI 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.

Brown County's rank among Wisconsin counties

Nationally, Brown County, WI is the 763-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Wisconsin alone it ranks 4 of 72. Brown County, WI is 530 square miles with a population of 273,909.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Jasper County, IA and Haywood County, TN 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 Wisconsin

Every county in Wisconsin is on this site, including Kenosha County, WI and Lincoln County, WI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.