Clay County, NE Shrink-Swell Risk

What Clay County, NE's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Clay County, NE's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 5.75% across 52.9% 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 Clay County, NE 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 Clay County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Clay County, NE 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 Clay County, NE compares

Nationally, Clay County, NE is the 167-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Nebraska alone it ranks 5 of 93. Clay County covers 572 square miles and counts 6,103 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Franklin County, MS and Monroe County, PA 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 Nebraska

Every county in Nebraska is on this site, including Polk County, NE and Arthur County, NE. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.