Stephens County, GA Shrink-Swell Risk

Stephens County, GA's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Stephens County, GA: USDA's soil survey rates 99.1% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.49% 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 Stephens County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Stephens 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 Stephens County.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Stephens County, GA 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Stephens County, GA is the 2,525-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Georgia alone it ranks 93 of 159. Stephens County, GA is 179 square miles with a population of 27,498.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Hancock County, IN and Worcester County, MD 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 Georgia

Every county in Georgia is on this site, including Thomas County, GA and Clinch County, GA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.