Hawaii County, HI Shrink-Swell Risk

Hawaii County, HI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Hawaii County, HI: USDA's soil survey rates 89.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.35% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Hawaii County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Hawaii 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 Hawaii County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Hawaii County, HI 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.

Hawaii County's rank among Hawaii counties

Nationally, Hawaii County, HI is the 1,682-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Hawaii alone it ranks 1 of 3. Hawaii County, HI is 4,028 square miles with a population of 209,790.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Richmond city, VA and Russell 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 Hawaii

Every county in Hawaii is on this site, including Maui County, HI and Honolulu County, HI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.