Los Alamos County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk
Shrink-swell potential in Los Alamos County, NM
Low
Soil across 65.7% of Los Alamos County, NM comes back "Low" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 2.6% linear extensibility. That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.
What this number does and doesn't tell you
This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Los Alamos County, NM - never a reading for one specific parcel. 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 Los Alamos County.
Los Alamos County: the real numbers
Los Alamos County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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.
How Los Alamos County, NM compares
Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Los Alamos County, NM ranks 1,479 most-constrained nationally, and 20 of 32 within New Mexico. Los Alamos County covers 109 square miles and counts 19,675 residents.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Pueblo County, CO and Orange County, FL 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
Elsewhere in New Mexico
Every county in New Mexico is on this site, including De Baca County, NM and Curry County, NM. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.