Ward County, TX Shrink-Swell Risk

Ward County, TX's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Ward County, TX: USDA's soil survey rates 92% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.87% linear extensibility). That's the easiest starting point on this site's scale - a standard foundation is the reasonable default here, though any one lot can still differ.

What Ward County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Ward 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 Ward County will actually do.

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Ward County, TX rating "Low", 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 Ward County, TX compares

Nationally, Ward County, TX is the 2,111-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Texas alone it ranks 240 of 253. Ward County, TX is 836 square miles with a population of 11,038.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Cabarrus County, NC and Bledsoe 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 Texas

Every county in Texas is on this site, including Andrews County, TX and Shelby County, TX. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.