Harlan County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

Harlan County, KY's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Harlan County, KY: USDA's soil survey rates 99.2% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.16% linear extensibility). That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.

What Harlan County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Harlan County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Harlan County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Harlan County, KY rating "Low", 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, Harlan County, KY is the 2,793-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kentucky alone it ranks 113 of 120. Harlan County covers 466 square miles and counts 25,052 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wright County, MN and Shawnee County, KS 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 Kentucky

Every county in Kentucky is on this site, including Todd County, KY and Russell County, KY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.