Marion County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

Marion County, KY's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Marion County, KY: USDA's soil survey rates 57.2% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.9% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Marion County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Marion 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 Marion County, KY 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Marion County, KY is the 1,262-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kentucky alone it ranks 45 of 120. The county spans 344 square miles, home to 19,851 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Cheyenne County, CO and Potter County, SD 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 Kentucky

Every county in Kentucky is on this site, including Knott County, KY and Simpson County, KY. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.