New Madrid County, MO Shrink-Swell Risk

What New Madrid County, MO's soil means for a foundation

High

USDA's SSURGO data puts New Madrid County, MO's soil at "High" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 7.33% across 37.1% of the county's surveyed land. Soil at this level can crack a standard foundation without moisture-control measures - consistent watering near the foundation, correct grading, root barriers - or added structural design.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of New Madrid County, MO at once, not any single address. 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 New Madrid County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

New Madrid County's soil reading is exactly the case where a report before construction, or before cracks widen, pays for itself. The report ($1,000-$5,000) is what tells you whether New Madrid County's county-level reading applies to your lot; the repair ($5,000-$15,000) is what it costs if you skip that and find out from the cracks instead.

How New Madrid County, MO compares

Nationally, New Madrid County, MO is the 69-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 2 of 114. New Madrid County, MO is 675 square miles with a population of 15,212.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Washington County, AL and Tippecanoe County, IN are worth a look for comparison.

How this reading is built, and its real limits · The warning signs of expansive-clay damage, explained

More of Missouri

Every county in Missouri is on this site, including Ralls County, MO and Oregon County, MO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.