Clay County, MN Shrink-Swell Risk

Clay County, MN's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Clay County, MN: USDA's soil survey rates 64.7% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.46% linear extensibility). Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

What Clay County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Clay County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. 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 Clay County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Clay County, MN 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, Clay County, MN is the 867-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Minnesota alone it ranks 18 of 87. Clay County covers 1,045 square miles and counts 66,848 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Kimball County, NE and Person County, NC 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 Minnesota

Every county in Minnesota is on this site, including Anoka County, MN and Isanti County, MN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.