Dorchester County, SC Shrink-Swell Risk

Dorchester County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Dorchester County, SC, 90.6% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 1.66% linear extensibility on average. That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.

Before you rely on this for one address

Dorchester County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Budgeting for Dorchester County, SC

Dorchester County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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.

Dorchester County's rank among South Carolina counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Dorchester County, SC ranks 2,320 most-constrained nationally, and 27 of 46 within South Carolina. Dorchester County covers 568 square miles and counts 174,663 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Cheyenne County, KS and Cumberland County, NJ 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

Elsewhere in South Carolina

Every county in South Carolina is on this site, including Greenwood County, SC and Oconee County, SC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.