Curry County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk

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

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Curry County, NM's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.6% across 63.9% 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 Curry County, NM at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Curry County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Curry 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Curry County, NM is the 779-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within New Mexico alone it ranks 9 of 32. Curry County covers 1,406 square miles and counts 47,156 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Goshen County, WY and Morgan 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 New Mexico

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