Ozaukee County, WI Shrink-Swell Risk

What Ozaukee County, WI's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Ozaukee County, WI's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.14% across 50% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Ozaukee County, WI at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Ozaukee County, WI rating "Moderate", 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, Ozaukee County, WI is the 1,090-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Wisconsin alone it ranks 13 of 72. Ozaukee County covers 233 square miles and counts 93,956 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wheeler County, TX and Marshall 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 Wisconsin

Every county in Wisconsin is on this site, including Fond du Lac County, WI and Kewaunee County, WI. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.