Cooper County, MO Shrink-Swell Risk
Cooper County, MO's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Moderate
Cooper County, MO: USDA's soil survey rates 59.1% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.93% linear extensibility). That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.
What Cooper County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Cooper County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).
What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it
With Cooper County, MO 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, Cooper County, MO is the 615-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 57 of 114. The county spans 565 square miles, home to 17,122 people.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Mecklenburg County, NC and Ottawa County, OH 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 Missouri
Every county in Missouri is on this site, including Shannon County, MO and Cedar County, MO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.