Hinds County, MS Shrink-Swell Risk

What Hinds County, MS's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Hinds County, MS's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.57% across 96% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Hinds County, MS at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Hinds County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Hinds County, MS 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, Hinds County, MS is the 2,410-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Mississippi alone it ranks 68 of 82. Hinds County covers 870 square miles and counts 211,975 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Scott County, TN 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 Mississippi

Every county in Mississippi is on this site, including Pontotoc County, MS and Leflore County, MS. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.