Monona County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

What Monona County, IA's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Monona County, IA's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 4.33% across 37.4% of the county's surveyed land. A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Monona County, IA 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 Monona County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Monona County, IA 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.

Monona County's rank among Iowa counties

Nationally, Monona County, IA is the 431-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Iowa alone it ranks 34 of 99. Monona County covers 694 square miles and counts 8,429 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Alpena County, MI and Buffalo County, SD 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 Iowa

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