Lawrence County, SD Shrink-Swell Risk

Lawrence County, SD's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Lawrence County, SD: USDA's soil survey rates 61.9% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.9% 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 Lawrence County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Lawrence County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Lawrence County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Lawrence County, SD 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.

How Lawrence County, SD compares

Nationally, Lawrence County, SD is the 1,259-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within South Dakota alone it ranks 64 of 66. Lawrence County, SD is 800 square miles with a population of 28,809.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Shelby County, TN and Camden County, GA 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 South Dakota

Every county in South Dakota is on this site, including Todd County, SD and Hanson County, SD. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.