Dubuque County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

Dubuque County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Moderate

In Dubuque County, IA, 72.5% of the surveyed soil carries a "Moderate" shrink-swell rating, 3.16% linear extensibility on average. Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

Before you rely on this for one address

Dubuque County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. 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 Dubuque County.

Budgeting for Dubuque County, IA

Dubuque 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.

Dubuque County's rank among Iowa counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Dubuque County, IA ranks 1,075 most-constrained nationally, and 75 of 99 within Iowa. The county spans 608 square miles, home to 99,242 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Crook County, OR and Wasco County, OR 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 Iowa

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