Lea County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk
Shrink-swell potential in Lea County, NM
Low
Soil across 79.7% of Lea County, NM comes back "Low" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 2.31% 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 this number does and doesn't tell you
This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Lea County, NM - never a reading for one specific parcel. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).
Lea County: the real numbers
Lea County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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 Lea County, NM compares
Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Lea County, NM ranks 1,717 most-constrained nationally, and 27 of 32 within New Mexico. Lea County covers 4,392 square miles and counts 75,151 residents.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Pennington County, MN and Pondera County, MT 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
Elsewhere in New Mexico
Every county in New Mexico is on this site, including Mora County, NM and McKinley County, NM. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.