Dickinson County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

Dickinson County, IA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Dickinson County, IA: USDA's soil survey rates 52.7% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.27% linear extensibility). Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

What Dickinson County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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.

Dickinson County's rank among Iowa counties

Nationally, Dickinson County, IA is the 999-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Iowa alone it ranks 70 of 99. Dickinson County covers 381 square miles and counts 18,158 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Searcy County, AR and Calumet County, WI 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 Mahaska County, IA and Hancock County, IA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.