Buchanan County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

What Buchanan County, IA's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Buchanan County, IA's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.7% across 50.8% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Buchanan County, IA at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Buchanan County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Buchanan County, IA rating "Low", 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, Buchanan County, IA is the 1,410-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Iowa alone it ranks 99 of 99. The county spans 571 square miles, home to 20,733 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Linn County, KS and Washington County, NY 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 Iowa

Every county in Iowa is on this site, including Osceola County, IA and Marshall County, IA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.