Chenango County, NY Shrink-Swell Risk

What Chenango County, NY's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Chenango County, NY's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 0.93% across 100% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Chenango County, NY at once, not any single address. 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 Chenango County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Chenango County, NY 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.

Chenango County's rank among New York counties

Nationally, Chenango County, NY is the 2,931-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within New York alone it ranks 52 of 62. The county spans 893 square miles, home to 45,776 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Waushara County, WI and Otero County, CO 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 York

Every county in New York is on this site, including Onondaga County, NY and Westchester County, NY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.