Colfax County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk

What Colfax County, NM's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Colfax County, NM's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.34% across 56.9% of the county's surveyed land. Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Colfax County, NM 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 Colfax County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Colfax County, NM 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.

Colfax County's rank among New Mexico counties

Nationally, Colfax County, NM is the 426-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within New Mexico alone it ranks 2 of 32. Colfax County, NM is 3,758 square miles with a population of 12,307.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Chilton County, AL and Shelby 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 New Mexico

Every county in New Mexico is on this site, including Harding County, NM and Lincoln County, NM. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.