Valencia County, NM Shrink-Swell Risk

Valencia County, NM's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Moderate

Valencia County, NM: USDA's soil survey rates 45.2% of the county "Moderate" for shrink-swell potential (3.62% linear extensibility). That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

What Valencia County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Valencia County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific geotechnical report, running about $1,000-$5,000 (typically near $2,700).

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Valencia 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 Valencia County, NM compares

Nationally, Valencia County, NM is the 773-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within New Mexico alone it ranks 8 of 32. The county spans 1,067 square miles, home to 80,813 people.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Todd County, MN and Independence 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

More of New Mexico

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