Lincoln County, NC Shrink-Swell Risk
Lincoln County, NC's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
Lincoln County, NC: USDA's soil survey rates 97.2% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.62% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.
What Lincoln County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Lincoln County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A site-specific soil report, usually $1,000-$5,000, is what an engineer would actually pull before designing a foundation on a lot in Lincoln County.
What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it
With Lincoln 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.
Where this sits nationally
Nationally, Lincoln County, NC is the 2,358-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Carolina alone it ranks 58 of 100. Lincoln County covers 296 square miles and counts 97,611 residents.
Before you act on this
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Caswell County, NC and Refugio County, TX 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 Henderson County, NC and Stokes County, NC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.