Mercer County, WV Shrink-Swell Risk

Mercer County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Mercer County, WV, 95.7% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 1.81% 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

Mercer 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 Mercer County will actually do.

Budgeting for Mercer County, WV

Mercer 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.

Mercer County's rank among West Virginia counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Mercer County, WV ranks 2,158 most-constrained nationally, and 30 of 55 within West Virginia. Mercer County, WV is 419 square miles with a population of 57,524.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wheeler County, NE and Davie County, NC 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 West Virginia

Every county in West Virginia is on this site, including Putnam County, WV and Raleigh County, WV. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.