Cape Girardeau County, MO Shrink-Swell Risk

Cape Girardeau County, MO's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Cape Girardeau County, MO: USDA's soil survey rates 49.2% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.3% linear extensibility). Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

What Cape Girardeau County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Cape Girardeau County, MO 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Cape Girardeau County, MO is the 973-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 71 of 114. Cape Girardeau County, MO is 579 square miles with a population of 83,658.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Decatur County, TN and Webster County, NE 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 Missouri

Every county in Missouri is on this site, including Ralls County, MO and Crawford County, MO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.