Sargent County, ND Shrink-Swell Risk

What Sargent County, ND's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Sargent County, ND's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.26% across 62.1% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Sargent County, ND at once, not any single address. 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 Sargent County.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Sargent County, ND 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.

Sargent County's rank among North Dakota counties

Nationally, Sargent County, ND is the 1,011-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Dakota alone it ranks 18 of 53. Sargent County covers 858 square miles and counts 3,710 residents.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Lee County, MS and Wasco County, OR 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 North Dakota

Every county in North Dakota is on this site, including Divide County, ND and Pembina County, ND. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.