Washington County, KS Shrink-Swell Risk

What Washington County, KS's soil means for a foundation

Moderate

USDA's SSURGO data puts Washington County, KS's soil at "Moderate" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 5.74% across 56.8% of the county's surveyed land. That's a middle reading: not the sharp swings that crack a foundation outright, but enough that grading and drainage are worth getting right.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Washington County, KS 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 Washington County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With Washington County, KS 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 Washington County, KS compares

Nationally, Washington County, KS is the 171-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Kansas alone it ranks 27 of 105. Washington County covers 895 square miles and counts 5,572 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. King and Queen County, VA and Warren County, IL 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 Kansas

Every county in Kansas is on this site, including Grant County, KS and Lincoln County, KS. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.