Polk County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk

Polk County, TN's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Polk County, TN: USDA's soil survey rates 95.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.58% 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 Polk County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Polk County 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 Polk County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Polk County, TN 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, Polk County, TN is the 2,403-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 74 of 95. Polk County, TN is 435 square miles with a population of 18,338.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Lawrence County, SD and Montgomery County, MO 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 Tennessee

Every county in Tennessee is on this site, including Obion County, TN and McNairy County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.