El Paso County, TX Shrink-Swell Risk
El Paso County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading
Low
In El Paso County, TX, 87% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 2.12% linear extensibility on average. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.
Before you rely on this for one address
El Paso 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 El Paso County, TX
El Paso 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.
Where this sits nationally
Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, El Paso County, TX ranks 1,866 most-constrained nationally, and 225 of 253 within Texas. El Paso County covers 1,014 square miles and counts 875,784 residents.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Leelanau County, MI and Young County, TX 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 Texas
Every county in Texas is on this site, including Burleson County, TX and Blanco County, TX. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.