Erath County, TX Shrink-Swell Risk

What Erath County, TX's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Erath County, TX's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.93% across 60.8% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Erath County, TX at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Erath County, TX 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, Erath County, TX is the 611-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Texas alone it ranks 133 of 253. The county spans 1,083 square miles, home to 44,496 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Kiowa County, KS and Colquitt County, GA 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 Texas

Every county in Texas is on this site, including Kerr County, TX and Motley County, TX. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.