Clarke County, MS Shrink-Swell Risk

What Clarke County, MS's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Clarke County, MS's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.36% across 59.2% of the county's surveyed land. A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Clarke County, MS at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Clarke County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Clarke County, MS 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, Clarke County, MS is the 940-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Mississippi alone it ranks 26 of 82. Clarke County covers 692 square miles and counts 15,155 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Scott County, TN and Russell County, AL 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 Mississippi

Every county in Mississippi is on this site, including Claiborne County, MS and Sharkey County, MS. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.