Macon County, MO Shrink-Swell Risk

What Macon County, MO's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Macon County, MO's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 5.6% across 50.7% 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 Macon County, MO 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 Macon County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Macon County, MO 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.

How Macon County, MO compares

Nationally, Macon County, MO is the 201-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 22 of 114. Macon County, MO is 801 square miles with a population of 15,177.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Marshall County, KS and Swift County, MN 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 Missouri

Every county in Missouri is on this site, including Saline County, MO and Ste. Genevieve County, MO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.