Washington County, MO Shrink-Swell Risk

Washington County, MO's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Washington County, MO: USDA's soil survey rates 49% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (2.75% linear extensibility). Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

What Washington County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Washington 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 Washington County, MO 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 Washington County, MO compares

Nationally, Washington County, MO is the 1,377-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 83 of 114. The county spans 760 square miles, home to 23,583 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Choctaw County, OK and Wake County, NC 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 Missouri

Every county in Missouri is on this site, including Macon County, MO and Laclede County, MO. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.