Iron County, WI Shrink-Swell Risk

Iron County, WI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Iron County, WI: USDA's soil survey rates 96.1% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (0.77% linear extensibility). 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.

What Iron County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Iron County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Iron County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Iron County, WI 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.

Iron County's rank among Wisconsin counties

Nationally, Iron County, WI is the 2,999-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Wisconsin alone it ranks 71 of 72. Iron County, WI is 758 square miles with a population of 6,235.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Hidalgo County, NM and Bath County, VA 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 Wisconsin

Every county in Wisconsin is on this site, including Green Lake County, WI and Manitowoc County, WI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.