Butler County, PA Shrink-Swell Risk

Shrink-swell potential in Butler County, PA

Low

Soil across 89.9% of Butler County, PA comes back "Low" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 1.61% linear extensibility. That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.

What this number does and doesn't tell you

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Butler County, PA - never a reading for one specific parcel. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Butler County will actually do.

Butler County: the real numbers

Butler 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.

Butler County's rank among Pennsylvania counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Butler County, PA ranks 2,372 most-constrained nationally, and 28 of 67 within Pennsylvania. Butler County, PA is 789 square miles with a population of 199,341.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Jefferson County, OH and Fort Bend County, TX 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 Cumberland County, PA and Elk County, PA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.