Lawrence County, IL Shrink-Swell Risk

What Lawrence County, IL's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Lawrence County, IL's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4% across 52.3% 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 Lawrence County, IL at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Lawrence 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.

Lawrence County's rank among Illinois counties

Nationally, Lawrence County, IL is the 565-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Illinois alone it ranks 31 of 101. Lawrence County, IL is 372 square miles with a population of 14,801.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Hancock County, ME and Sheboygan County, WI 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 Henry County, IL and Woodford County, IL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.