Jackson County, OR Shrink-Swell Risk

Jackson County, OR's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Jackson County, OR: USDA's soil survey rates 53.7% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.4% linear extensibility). That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

What Jackson County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Jackson County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A site-specific soil report, usually $1,000-$5,000, is what an engineer would actually pull before designing a foundation on a lot in Jackson County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Jackson County, OR rating "Moderate", 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, Jackson County, OR is the 905-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Oregon alone it ranks 6 of 36. Jackson County covers 2,783 square miles and counts 221,331 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Saunders County, NE and Hampton County, SC 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 Oregon

Every county in Oregon is on this site, including Clackamas County, OR and Columbia County, OR. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.