Otero County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk
Otero County, NM's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
Otero County, NM: USDA's soil survey rates 74.1% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.05% linear extensibility). That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.
What Otero County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Otero 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 Otero County, NM 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, Otero County, NM is the 1,935-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within New Mexico alone it ranks 32 of 32. The county spans 6,613 square miles, home to 69,711 people.
For contrast
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Clearwater County, MN and Nowata County, OK 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 New Mexico
Every county in New Mexico is on this site, including Guadalupe County, NM and Bernalillo County, NM. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.