Ellsworth County, KS Shrink-Swell Risk

What Ellsworth County, KS's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Ellsworth County, KS's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.91% across 54.9% of the county's surveyed land. 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.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Ellsworth County, KS at once, not any single address. 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 Ellsworth County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Ellsworth County, KS 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Ellsworth County, KS is the 625-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kansas alone it ranks 58 of 105. The county spans 716 square miles, home to 6,316 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. McIntosh County, ND and Tuscaloosa County, AL 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 Kansas

Every county in Kansas is on this site, including Cloud County, KS and Stafford County, KS. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.