Missoula County, MT Shrink-Swell Risk

Missoula County, MT's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Missoula County, MT: USDA's soil survey rates 93.8% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.44% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Missoula County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Missoula County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. 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 Missoula County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Missoula County, MT 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.

Missoula County's rank among Montana counties

Nationally, Missoula County, MT is the 2,572-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Montana alone it ranks 52 of 54. Missoula County covers 2,593 square miles and counts 122,546 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wadena County, MN and Washita County, OK 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 Montana

Every county in Montana is on this site, including Pondera County, MT and Sheridan County, MT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.