Toole County, MT Shrink-Swell Risk

Toole County, MT's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Toole County, MT: USDA's soil survey rates 56.7% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (4.12% linear extensibility). A real but modest amount of movement - standard foundations usually hold up, but drainage and moisture control around the foundation still matter more than on low-risk soil.

What Toole County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Toole County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Toole County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Toole County, MT 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Toole County, MT is the 515-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Montana alone it ranks 12 of 54. Toole County, MT is 1,915 square miles with a population of 5,153.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Sunflower County, MS and Cherokee County, OK 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 Montana

Every county in Montana is on this site, including Silver Bow County, MT and Big Horn County, MT. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.