Martin County, KY Shrink-Swell Risk

Martin County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Martin County, KY, 86.5% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 2.2% linear extensibility on average. 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.

Before you rely on this for one address

Martin County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Martin County will actually do.

Budgeting for Martin County, KY

Martin 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.

Martin County's rank among Kentucky counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Martin County, KY ranks 1,808 most-constrained nationally, and 76 of 120 within Kentucky. Martin County, KY is 230 square miles with a population of 10,696.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Marion County, FL and LaSalle Parish, LA 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 Kentucky

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