Monroe County, MI Shrink-Swell Risk

Monroe County, MI's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Monroe County, MI: USDA's soil survey rates 56% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.98% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

What Monroe County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Monroe County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Monroe County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Monroe County, MI 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 Monroe County, MI compares

Nationally, Monroe County, MI is the 1,205-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Michigan alone it ranks 2 of 83. Monroe County, MI is 549 square miles with a population of 156,045.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Dickenson County, VA and Gallatin County, MT 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 Michigan

Every county in Michigan is on this site, including Manistee County, MI and Ionia County, MI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.