Hillsborough County, FL Shrink-Swell Risk

Hillsborough County, FL's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Hillsborough County, FL: USDA's soil survey rates 95.2% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (0.75% 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 Hillsborough County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Hillsborough County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. 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 Hillsborough County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Hillsborough County, FL 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.

Hillsborough County's rank among Florida counties

Nationally, Hillsborough County, FL is the 3,004-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Florida alone it ranks 51 of 66. The county spans 1,023 square miles, home to 1,581,426 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Weber County, UT and Macoupin County, IL 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 Florida

Every county in Florida is on this site, including Gilchrist County, FL and Washington County, FL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.