Merced County, CA Shrink-Swell Risk

What Merced County, CA's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Merced County, CA's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.73% across 51.2% of the county's surveyed land. Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Merced County, CA 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 Merced County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Merced County, CA rating "Moderate", 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.

How Merced County, CA compares

Nationally, Merced County, CA is the 710-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within California alone it ranks 11 of 58. The county spans 1,938 square miles, home to 296,774 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Scott County, VA and Sumter County, SC 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 California

Every county in California is on this site, including Humboldt County, CA and Amador County, CA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.