Swain County, NC Shrink-Swell Risk

Swain County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Swain County, NC, 99.3% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 1.1% linear extensibility on average. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

Before you rely on this for one address

Swain 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 Swain County, NC

Swain 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, Swain County, NC ranks 2,847 most-constrained nationally, and 99 of 100 within North Carolina. The county spans 528 square miles, home to 13,945 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Mackinac County, MI and Greensville County, VA 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 North Carolina

Every county in North Carolina is on this site, including Alamance County, NC and Avery County, NC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.