Jefferson County, MO Shrink-Swell Risk

What Jefferson County, MO's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Jefferson County, MO's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.87% across 45% of the county's surveyed land. A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Jefferson County, MO 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 Jefferson County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Jefferson County, MO 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.

How Jefferson County, MO compares

Nationally, Jefferson County, MO is the 637-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 58 of 114. Jefferson County, MO is 656 square miles with a population of 231,888.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Sublette County, WY and Suffolk County, NY 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 Missouri

Every county in Missouri is on this site, including Pike County, MO and Pemiscot County, MO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.