McKean County, PA Shrink-Swell Risk

What McKean County, PA's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts McKean County, PA's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.28% across 99.2% of the county's surveyed land. Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of McKean County, PA at once, not any single address. A site-specific soil report, usually $1,000-$5,000, is what an engineer would actually pull before designing a foundation on a lot in McKean County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With McKean County, PA 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, McKean County, PA is the 2,715-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Pennsylvania alone it ranks 53 of 67. McKean County covers 980 square miles and counts 39,478 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. La Crosse County, WI and Warren County, MS 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 Pennsylvania

Every county in Pennsylvania is on this site, including Clearfield County, PA and Wyoming County, PA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.