Burlington County, NJ Shrink-Swell Risk

Burlington County, NJ's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Burlington County, NJ: USDA's soil survey rates 93.6% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.5% 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 Burlington County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Burlington County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Burlington County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Burlington County, NJ 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, Burlington County, NJ is the 2,487-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within New Jersey alone it ranks 9 of 21. Burlington County covers 799 square miles and counts 475,515 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Esmeralda County, NV and Lake County, IN 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 New Jersey

Every county in New Jersey is on this site, including Morris County, NJ and Gloucester County, NJ. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.