Dade County, GA Shrink-Swell Risk

What Dade County, GA's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Dade County, GA's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 2.15% across 74.5% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Dade County, GA 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 Dade County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Dade County, GA 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.

Dade County's rank among Georgia counties

Nationally, Dade County, GA is the 1,847-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Georgia alone it ranks 18 of 159. Dade County covers 174 square miles and counts 16,068 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Tom Green County, TX and Caddo County, OK 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 Georgia

Every county in Georgia is on this site, including Franklin County, GA and Schley County, GA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.