Montezuma County, CO Shrink-Swell Risk

Montezuma County, CO's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Montezuma County, CO: USDA's soil survey rates 68.8% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.51% 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 Montezuma County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Montezuma 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 Montezuma County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Montezuma County, CO 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Montezuma County, CO is the 1,556-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Colorado alone it ranks 26 of 63. The county spans 2,029 square miles, home to 26,841 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Ulster County, NY and Jackson County, IN 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 Colorado

Every county in Colorado is on this site, including Clear Creek County, CO and Teller County, CO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.