Cumberland County, PA Shrink-Swell Risk

Cumberland County, PA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Cumberland County, PA: USDA's soil survey rates 79.1% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.87% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What Cumberland County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Cumberland 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 Cumberland County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Cumberland County, PA rating "Low", 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, Cumberland County, PA is the 2,103-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Pennsylvania alone it ranks 10 of 67. Cumberland County covers 545 square miles and counts 275,516 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Lowndes County, MS and Rensselaer County, NY 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 Pennsylvania

Every county in Pennsylvania is on this site, including Clarion County, PA and Susquehanna County, PA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.