Laclede County, MO Shrink-Swell Risk

Laclede County, MO's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Laclede County, MO: USDA's soil survey rates 82.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.02% linear extensibility). That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.

What Laclede County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Laclede 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 Laclede County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Laclede County, MO 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Laclede County, MO is the 1,963-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 96 of 114. Laclede County, MO is 765 square miles with a population of 36,738.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wayne County, NC and Valley 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 Missouri

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