Worcester County, MD Shrink-Swell Risk

Worcester County's SSURGO shrink-swell reading

Low

In Worcester County, MD, 100% of the surveyed soil carries a "Low" shrink-swell rating, 0.87% linear extensibility on average. 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.

Before you rely on this for one address

Worcester 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 Worcester County will actually do.

Budgeting for Worcester County, MD

Worcester 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.

Worcester County's rank among Maryland counties

Among the 3,085 rated counties on this site, Worcester County, MD ranks 2,952 most-constrained nationally, and 24 of 24 within Maryland. Worcester County covers 468 square miles and counts 54,337 residents.

See how another county compares

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Bee County, TX and Tippah County, MS 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 Talbot County, MD and Dorchester County, MD. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.