Rice County, MN Shrink-Swell Risk

Rice County, MN's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Rice County, MN: USDA's soil survey rates 57.4% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.54% linear extensibility). A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

What Rice County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Rice 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 Rice County, MN 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.

How Rice County, MN compares

Nationally, Rice County, MN is the 814-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Minnesota alone it ranks 16 of 87. Rice County, MN is 496 square miles with a population of 69,025.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. McLean County, IL and Grayson County, VA 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 Minnesota

Every county in Minnesota is on this site, including Jackson County, MN and Lake of the Woods County, MN. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.