Union County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk

What Union County, NM's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Union County, NM's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.31% across 45.5% of the county's surveyed land. Conventional foundations are the reasonable expectation here, with routine moisture-control practice rather than special engineering.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Union County, NM 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 Union County, NM 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.

How Union County, NM compares

Nationally, Union County, NM is the 968-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within New Mexico alone it ranks 10 of 32. Union County covers 3,825 square miles and counts 3,926 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Rush County, KS and Pittsylvania 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

More of New Mexico

Every county in New Mexico is on this site, including Colfax County, NM and Eddy County, NM. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.