Lee County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

Lee County, IA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Lee County, IA: USDA's soil survey rates 46.3% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (5% linear extensibility). A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

What Lee County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Lee County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Lee County, IA 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Lee County, IA is the 292-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Iowa alone it ranks 20 of 99. The county spans 518 square miles, home to 32,376 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Frontier County, NE and Pembina County, ND 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 Iowa

Every county in Iowa is on this site, including Lyon County, IA and Scott County, IA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.