Jo Daviess County, IL Shrink-Swell Risk

What Jo Daviess County, IL's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Jo Daviess County, IL's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.42% across 73.9% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Jo Daviess County, IL 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 Jo Daviess County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Jo Daviess County, IL 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.

Jo Daviess County's rank among Illinois counties

Nationally, Jo Daviess County, IL is the 895-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Illinois alone it ranks 72 of 101. The county spans 601 square miles, home to 21,528 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wayne County, IA and Dawson County, NE 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 Illinois

Every county in Illinois is on this site, including Christian County, IL and Randolph County, IL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.