Rhea County, TN Shrink-Swell Risk
Rhea County, TN's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
Rhea County, TN: USDA's soil survey rates 85.6% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.84% 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 Rhea County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Rhea County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A site-specific soil report, usually $1,000-$5,000, is what an engineer would actually pull before designing a foundation on a lot in Rhea County.
What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it
With Rhea 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, Rhea County, TN is the 2,130-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 57 of 95. Rhea County covers 315 square miles and counts 34,759 residents.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Union County, AR and Lyon County, IA 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 Loudon County, TN and Roane County, TN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.