Thayer County, NE Shrink-Swell Risk

What Thayer County, NE's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Thayer County, NE's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 5.15% across 53.5% 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 Thayer County, NE at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Thayer County, NE 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.

Thayer County's rank among Nebraska counties

Nationally, Thayer County, NE is the 269-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Nebraska alone it ranks 12 of 93. The county spans 574 square miles, home to 4,870 people.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Montgomery County, IN and Marshall County, MS 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 Nebraska

Every county in Nebraska is on this site, including Jefferson County, NE and Rock County, NE. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.