McDonald County, MO Shrink-Swell Risk

What McDonald County, MO's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts McDonald County, MO's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.17% across 99.9% 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 McDonald County, MO 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 McDonald County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With McDonald County, MO 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, McDonald County, MO is the 2,789-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 113 of 114. McDonald County, MO is 539 square miles with a population of 24,054.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Alcona County, MI and Montgomery County, KS 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 Missouri

Every county in Missouri is on this site, including Scotland County, MO and St. Louis city, MO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.