Lenoir County, NC Shrink-Swell Risk

What Lenoir County, NC's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Lenoir County, NC's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.44% across 96.6% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Lenoir County, NC at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Lenoir County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Lenoir County, NC 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.

Lenoir County's rank among North Carolina counties

Nationally, Lenoir County, NC is the 2,575-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Carolina alone it ranks 80 of 100. Lenoir County, NC is 399 square miles with a population of 55,332.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Lincoln County, WY and Macon County, NC 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 North Carolina

Every county in North Carolina is on this site, including Davidson County, NC and Buncombe County, NC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.