San Juan County, UT Shrink-Swell Risk
San Juan County, UT's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
San Juan County, UT: USDA's soil survey rates 85.5% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.02% 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 San Juan County's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in San Juan 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 San Juan County.
What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it
With San Juan County, UT 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.
San Juan County's rank among Utah counties
Nationally, San Juan County, UT is the 1,965-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Utah alone it ranks 23 of 29. San Juan County covers 7,824 square miles and counts 14,601 residents.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Indian River County, FL and Pacific County, WA 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 Utah
Every county in Utah is on this site, including Juab County, UT and Millard County, UT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.