Scott County, IL Shrink-Swell Risk

What Scott County, IL's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Scott County, IL's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.66% across 62.3% 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 Scott County, IL at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Scott County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Scott County, IL 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 Scott County, IL compares

Nationally, Scott County, IL is the 753-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Illinois alone it ranks 50 of 101. Scott County, IL is 251 square miles with a population of 4,880.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Carroll County, IL and Fentress County, TN 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 Illinois

Every county in Illinois is on this site, including Crawford County, IL and Bond County, IL. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.