Wilkes County, NC Shrink-Swell Risk

Wilkes County, NC's soil, for shrink-swell risk

Low

Wilkes County, NC: USDA's soil survey rates 97.3% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (1.52% 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 Wilkes County's reading doesn't cover

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

What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it

With Wilkes County, NC 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 Wilkes County, NC compares

Nationally, Wilkes County, NC is the 2,468-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within North Carolina alone it ranks 69 of 100. Wilkes County, NC is 754 square miles with a population of 66,186.

Before you act on this

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Custer County, CO and Monroe 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 North Carolina

Every county in North Carolina is on this site, including Buncombe County, NC and Franklin County, NC. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.