Potter County, TX Shrink-Swell Risk
Potter County, TX's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
Potter County, TX: USDA's soil survey rates 65.4% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.68% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.
What Potter County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Potter 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 Potter County, TX 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, Potter County, TX is the 1,428-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Texas alone it ranks 208 of 253. The county spans 908 square miles, home to 114,649 people.
Before you act on this
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Taylor County, WI and Webster 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 Texas
Every county in Texas is on this site, including Shackelford County, TX and Delta County, TX. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.