Hancock County, IL Shrink-Swell Risk

What Hancock County, IL's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Hancock County, IL's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.08% across 79.7% 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 Hancock County, IL 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 Hancock County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Hancock County, IL 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.

How Hancock County, IL compares

Nationally, Hancock County, IL is the 533-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Illinois alone it ranks 26 of 101. Hancock County, IL is 794 square miles with a population of 17,008.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Harnett County, NC and Imperial County, CA 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 Illinois

Every county in Illinois is on this site, including Whiteside County, IL and Ogle County, IL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.