York County, PA Shrink-Swell Risk

What York County, PA's soil means for a foundation

Low

USDA's SSURGO data puts York County, PA's soil at "Low" shrink-swell potential, an area-weighted linear extensibility of 1.41% across 96.4% of the county's surveyed land. Among the 3,144 counties on this site, that's the clean result: little shrink-swell movement, standard construction the likely outcome.

This is a county figure, not a lot figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of York County, PA at once, not any single address. A local geotechnical report, typically $1,000-$5,000 (around $2,700 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in York County will actually do.

Report cost vs. repair cost

With York County, PA 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 York County, PA compares

Nationally, York County, PA is the 2,603-most-constrained of 3,085 rated counties for shrink-swell soil. Within Pennsylvania alone it ranks 43 of 67. The county spans 904 square miles, home to 471,240 people.

For contrast

Orleans Parish, LA carries this site's most-constrained reading. Noble County, OH and Calaveras County, CA 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 Pennsylvania

Every county in Pennsylvania is on this site, including Westmoreland County, PA and Indiana County, PA. The full underlying dataset is downloadable directly, one row per county.