Jones County, SD Shrink-Swell Risk
Jones County, SD's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Very High
Jones County, SD: USDA's soil survey rates 42.6% of the county "Very High" for shrink-swell potential (9.41% linear extensibility). Ground that moves this much routinely produces the classic expansive-soil symptoms: diagonal stair-step cracking, doors that stick seasonally, uneven floors. A standard footing is a poor bet here.
What Jones County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Jones 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 Jones County.
What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it
With Jones County, SD rating "Very High", the gap between finding out early and finding out late is the whole decision. The report ($1,000-$5,000) is what tells you whether Jones County's county-level reading applies to your lot; the repair ($5,000-$15,000) is what it costs if you skip that and find out from the cracks instead.
Where this sits nationally
Nationally, Jones County, SD is the 38-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within South Dakota alone it ranks 3 of 66. Jones County covers 970 square miles and counts 874 residents.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Gosper County, NE and Richardson County, NE are worth a look for comparison.
How this reading is built, and its real limits · The warning signs of expansive-clay damage, explained
More of South Dakota
Every county in South Dakota is on this site, including Aurora County, SD and Lawrence County, SD. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.