Livingston County, IL Shrink-Swell Risk

Livingston County, IL's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Livingston County, IL: USDA's soil survey rates 50.6% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (5.09% linear extensibility). That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

What Livingston County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Livingston 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 Livingston County, IL 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, Livingston County, IL is the 277-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Illinois alone it ranks 2 of 101. Livingston County, IL is 1,044 square miles with a population of 35,375.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Cameron Parish, LA and St. Lawrence County, NY 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 Illinois

Every county in Illinois is on this site, including Jo Daviess County, IL and Effingham County, IL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.