Sierra County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk

Sierra County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Sierra County, NM, 64.5% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 2.57% linear extensibility on average. Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

Before you rely on this for one address

Sierra County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Budgeting for Sierra County, NM

Sierra 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.

Sierra County's rank among New Mexico counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Sierra County, NM ranks 1,502 most-constrained nationally, and 21 of 32 within New Mexico. The county spans 4,181 square miles, home to 11,389 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Boone County, MO and Claiborne 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 Quay County, NM and Luna County, NM. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.