Wicomico County, MD Shrink-Swell Risk

Wicomico County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Wicomico County, MD, 99.2% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 0.88% linear extensibility on average. That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.

Before you rely on this for one address

Wicomico County's reading is an average across the whole county, not a promise about any one lot inside it. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Wicomico County will actually do.

Budgeting for Wicomico County, MD

Wicomico County's soil reading points toward standard foundation practice as the likely outcome, not the exception. 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.

Wicomico County's rank among Maryland counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Wicomico County, MD ranks 2,951 most-constrained nationally, and 23 of 24 within Maryland. Wicomico County covers 374 square miles and counts 106,329 residents.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Wabash County, IL and Eddy County, ND 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

Elsewhere in Maryland

Every county in Maryland is on this site, including Queen Anne's County, MD and Caroline County, MD. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.