Marion County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk

What Marion County, TN's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Marion County, TN's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.79% across 91.1% of the county's surveyed land. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Marion County, TN 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 Marion County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Marion County, TN 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, TN is the 2,179-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 60 of 95. The county spans 498 square miles, home to 29,826 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Gratiot County, MI and Matagorda County, TX 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 Tennessee

Every county in Tennessee is on this site, including Carroll County, TN and Crockett County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.