Bucks County, PA Shrink-Swell Risk

Shrink-swell potential in Bucks County, PA

Low

Soil across 92.6% of Bucks County, PA comes back "Low" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 1.72% linear extensibility. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What this number does and doesn't tell you

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Bucks County, PA - 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 Bucks County.

Bucks County: the real numbers

Bucks 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 Bucks County, PA compares

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Bucks County, PA ranks 2,251 most-constrained nationally, and 20 of 67 within Pennsylvania. The county spans 604 square miles, home to 650,131 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Tuscaloosa County, AL and McIntosh County, ND 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 Pennsylvania

Every county in Pennsylvania is on this site, including Jefferson County, PA and Schuylkill County, PA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.