Des Moines County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

Des Moines County, IA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Des Moines County, IA: USDA's soil survey rates 87.7% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (4.84% linear extensibility). A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

What Des Moines County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Des Moines 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 Des Moines County, IA 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.

Des Moines County's rank among Iowa counties

Nationally, Des Moines County, IA is the 324-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Iowa alone it ranks 25 of 99. Des Moines County, IA is 416 square miles with a population of 38,411.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. De Witt County, IL and Cumberland County, NC 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 Iowa

Every county in Iowa is on this site, including Audubon County, IA and Delaware County, IA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.