Jackson County, NC Shrink-Swell Risk

What Jackson County, NC's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Jackson County, NC's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.24% across 98.8% 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 Jackson County, NC 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 Jackson County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Jackson County, NC 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.

How Jackson County, NC compares

Nationally, Jackson County, NC is the 2,742-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Carolina alone it ranks 94 of 100. Jackson County, NC is 491 square miles with a population of 45,281.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Washington County, ME and Ventura County, CA 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 North Carolina

Every county in North Carolina is on this site, including Carteret County, NC and Cleveland County, NC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.