Dane County, WI Shrink-Swell Risk

Dane County, WI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Dane County, WI: USDA's soil survey rates 50% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.07% 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 Dane County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Dane 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 Dane County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Dane County, WI 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.

How Dane County, WI compares

Nationally, Dane County, WI is the 1,138-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Wisconsin alone it ranks 14 of 72. Dane County covers 1,196 square miles and counts 588,347 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Autauga County, AL and Edwards County, KS 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 Wisconsin

Every county in Wisconsin is on this site, including Buffalo County, WI and Polk County, WI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.