Golden Valley County, MT Shrink-Swell Risk

What Golden Valley County, MT's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Golden Valley County, MT's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.53% across 54.8% 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 Golden Valley County, MT at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Golden Valley County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Golden Valley County, MT 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, Golden Valley County, MT is the 829-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Montana alone it ranks 26 of 54. Golden Valley County covers 1,174 square miles and counts 863 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Lee County, NC and Kings County, NY 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 Montana

Every county in Montana is on this site, including Deer Lodge County, MT and Gallatin County, MT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.