Howard County, NE Shrink-Swell Risk

Howard County, NE's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Howard County, NE: USDA's soil survey rates 71.7% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.49% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What Howard County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Howard 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 Howard County, NE 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.

Howard County's rank among Nebraska counties

Nationally, Howard County, NE is the 1,574-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Nebraska alone it ranks 53 of 93. Howard County covers 569 square miles and counts 6,572 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Marion County, IL and Benton County, MN 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 Nebraska

Every county in Nebraska is on this site, including Fillmore County, NE and Red Willow County, NE. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.