Orleans Parish, LA Shrink-Swell Risk

Orleans Parish, LA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Very High

Orleans Parish, LA: USDA's soil survey rates 89.2% of the county "Very High" for shrink-swell potential (15.75% linear extensibility). That's the range most associated with real foundation cracking - stair-step cracks in mortar joints, sticking doors, gaps around window frames - and it typically needs an engineered foundation (post-tension slab, drilled piers), not a standard footing.

What Orleans Parish's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Orleans Parish 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 Orleans Parish will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

Given Orleans Parish's rating, spending a few thousand now is the way to avoid spending tens of thousands later. The report ($1,000-$5,000) is what tells you whether Orleans Parish'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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Orleans Parish, LA is the 1-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Louisiana alone it ranks 1 of 64. Orleans Parish, LA is 170 square miles with a population of 362,701.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Johnson County, TX and Sanilac County, MI 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 Louisiana

Every county in Louisiana is on this site, including Lafourche Parish, LA and Cameron Parish, LA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.