Cass County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Cass County, IA's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.67% across 90% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Cass County, IA at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Cass County, IA 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.

How Cass County, IA compares

Nationally, Cass County, IA is the 357-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Iowa alone it ranks 26 of 99. Cass County covers 564 square miles and counts 13,024 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Middlesex County, NJ and Clark County, KY 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 Dallas County, IA and Benton County, IA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.