Wrangell City and Borough, AK Shrink-Swell Risk
Wrangell City and Borough, AK's soil, for shrink-swell risk
Low
Wrangell City and Borough, AK: USDA's soil survey rates 99.4% of the county "Low" for shrink-swell potential (0.45% linear extensibility). That's as favorable a county-level reading as this dataset produces - standard foundation practice, pending one lot's own geotechnical report.
What Wrangell City and Borough's reading doesn't cover
Two lots a mile apart in Wrangell City and Borough can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide reading. A site-specific soil report, usually $1,000-$5,000, is what an engineer would actually pull before designing a foundation on a lot in Wrangell City and Borough.
What it costs to find out, versus to ignore it
With Wrangell City and Borough, AK 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.
Where this sits nationally
Nationally, Wrangell City and Borough, AK is the 3,055-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Alaska alone it ranks 7 of 11. Wrangell City and Borough covers 2,556 square miles and counts 2,064 residents.
See how another county compares
Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Howard County, MD and Mountrail 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
More of Alaska
Every county in Alaska is on this site, including Haines Borough, AK and Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.