Hill County, MT Shrink-Swell Risk

Hill County, MT's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Hill County, MT: USDA's soil survey rates 68.7% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.84% linear extensibility). 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.

What Hill County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Hill County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Hill 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.

How Hill County, MT compares

Nationally, Hill County, MT is the 655-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Montana alone it ranks 22 of 54. Hill County covers 2,899 square miles and counts 16,065 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Swift County, MN and Bourbon County, KY 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 Custer County, MT and Stillwater County, MT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.