Marathon County, WI Shrink-Swell Risk

Marathon County, WI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Marathon County, WI: USDA's soil survey rates 97.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.6% 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 Marathon County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Marathon 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 Marathon County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Marathon County, WI 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.

How Marathon County, WI compares

Nationally, Marathon County, WI is the 2,384-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Wisconsin alone it ranks 41 of 72. The county spans 1,545 square miles, home to 139,091 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Scott County, MN and Mississippi County, AR 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 Wisconsin

Every county in Wisconsin is on this site, including Ashland County, WI and Grant County, WI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.