Maricopa County, AZ Shrink-Swell Risk

Shrink-swell potential in Maricopa County, AZ

Low

Soil across 79.9% of Maricopa County, AZ comes back "Low" in USDA's shrink-swell data, averaging 2.01% 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 Maricopa County, AZ - never a reading for one specific parcel. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Maricopa County will actually do.

Maricopa County: the real numbers

Maricopa 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.

Maricopa County's rank among Arizona counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Maricopa County, AZ ranks 1,969 most-constrained nationally, and 12 of 15 within Arizona. Maricopa County, AZ is 9,202 square miles with a population of 4,673,096.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Bienville Parish, LA and Wicomico County, MD 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 Arizona

Every county in Arizona is on this site, including Pima County, AZ and Gila County, AZ. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.