Ward County, ND Shrink-Swell Risk

What Ward County, ND's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Ward County, ND's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 3.12% across 56.4% of the county's surveyed land. 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.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Ward County, ND at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Ward County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Ward County, ND 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, Ward County, ND is the 1,100-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Dakota alone it ranks 24 of 53. Ward County covers 2,013 square miles and counts 68,427 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Hickory County, MO and Putnam County, TN 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 North Dakota

Every county in North Dakota is on this site, including Richland County, ND and McIntosh County, ND. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.