Liberty County, MT Shrink-Swell Risk

What Liberty County, MT's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Liberty County, MT's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.2% across 54.2% 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 Liberty County, MT 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 Liberty County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Liberty County, MT 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.

Liberty County's rank among Montana counties

Nationally, Liberty County, MT is the 475-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Montana alone it ranks 10 of 54. The county spans 1,430 square miles, home to 1,934 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Blaine County, MT and Gaston 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 Montana

Every county in Montana is on this site, including Powder River County, MT and Stillwater County, MT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.