San Miguel County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk
San Miguel County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading
Low
In San Miguel County, NM, 57.3% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 2.9% linear extensibility on average. That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.
Before you rely on this for one address
San Miguel County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. 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 Miguel County.
Budgeting for San Miguel County, NM
San Miguel County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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
Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, San Miguel County, NM ranks 1,260 most-constrained nationally, and 15 of 32 within New Mexico. The county spans 4,722 square miles, home to 26,428 people.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Pima County, AZ and St. Mary Parish, LA 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
Elsewhere in New Mexico
Every county in New Mexico is on this site, including Union County, NM and Socorro County, NM. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.