Minnehaha County, SD Shrink-Swell Risk

What Minnehaha County, SD's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Minnehaha County, SD's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.11% across 72.6% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Minnehaha County, SD 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 Minnehaha County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Minnehaha County, SD 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Minnehaha County, SD is the 517-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within South Dakota alone it ranks 32 of 66. Minnehaha County, SD is 807 square miles with a population of 208,639.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wilkin County, MN and Jackson 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 South Dakota

Every county in South Dakota is on this site, including Charles Mix County, SD and Dewey County, SD. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.