Tama County, IA Shrink-Swell Risk

Tama County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Moderate

In Tama County, IA, 89.2% of the surveyed soil carries a "Moderate" shrink-swell rating, 4.12% linear extensibility on average. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

Before you rely on this for one address

Tama County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Tama County will actually do.

Budgeting for Tama County, IA

Tama 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.

How Tama County, IA compares

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Tama County, IA ranks 514 most-constrained nationally, and 41 of 99 within Iowa. Tama County covers 721 square miles and counts 16,738 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Titus County, TX and Carroll County, AR 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 Iowa

Every county in Iowa is on this site, including Poweshiek County, IA and Osceola County, IA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.