New Kent County, VA Shrink-Swell Risk
New Kent County, VA's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
New Kent County, VA: USDA's soil survey rates 87.9% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.57% 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 New Kent County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in New Kent County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).
What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it
With New Kent County, VA 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.
New Kent County's rank among Virginia counties
Nationally, New Kent County, VA is the 1,498-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 35 of 114. New Kent County covers 210 square miles and counts 27,218 residents.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Fall River County, SD and Shelby County, TN 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 Virginia
Every county in Virginia is on this site, including Bland County, VA and Amherst County, VA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.