Houston County, MN Shrink-Swell Risk

Houston County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Houston County, MN, 53.9% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 2.92% linear extensibility on average. 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.

Before you rely on this for one address

Houston County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Houston County will actually do.

Budgeting for Houston County, MN

Houston County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Houston County, MN ranks 1,249 most-constrained nationally, and 42 of 87 within Minnesota. Houston County, MN is 552 square miles with a population of 18,352.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wadena County, MN and Boone 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

Elsewhere in Minnesota

Every county in Minnesota is on this site, including Nobles County, MN and Mower County, MN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.