Merrick County, NE Shrink-Swell Risk

What Merrick County, NE's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts Merrick County, NE's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.96% across 91.1% 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 Merrick County, NE 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 Merrick County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Merrick County, NE 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.

How Merrick County, NE compares

Nationally, Merrick County, NE is the 2,021-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Nebraska alone it ranks 62 of 93. Merrick County, NE is 488 square miles with a population of 7,837.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Richland County, WI and Echols County, GA 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 Nebraska

Every county in Nebraska is on this site, including Cass County, NE and Boone County, NE. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.