Mills County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

Mills County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Moderate

In Mills County, IA, 62.8% of the surveyed soil carries a "Moderate" shrink-swell rating, 3.7% linear extensibility on average. Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

Before you rely on this for one address

Mills County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Budgeting for Mills County, IA

Mills 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.

Where this sits nationally

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Mills County, IA ranks 723 most-constrained nationally, and 55 of 99 within Iowa. Mills County covers 437 square miles and counts 14,717 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Elliott County, KY and Faribault County, MN 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 Iowa

Every county in Iowa is on this site, including Crawford County, IA and Dallas County, IA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.