Expansive Soil in Nevada: County Ratings
1 of the 17 rated counties in Nevada have a dominant shrink-swell rating of High or Very High. Each rating below is the NRCS shrink-swell class covering the largest share of the county's mapped soil acres, computed from USDA SSURGO data. Open a county for the full class breakdown and what it means for a slab foundation.
| County | Dominant class | High + Very High share | Survey coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carson City | Low | 15% | 88% |
| Churchill County | Low | 14% | 99% |
| Clark County | Low | 0% | 95% |
| Douglas County | Low | 22% | 96% |
| Elko County | Low | 22% | 100% |
| Esmeralda County | Low | 4% | 100% |
| Eureka County | Low | 18% | 100% |
| Humboldt County | Low | 24% | 100% |
| Lander County | Low | 15% | 100% |
| Lincoln County | Low | 5% | 100% |
| Lyon County | Low | 14% | 98% |
| Mineral County | Low | 7% | 98% |
| Nye County | Low | 2% | 100% |
| Pershing County | Low | 15% | 99% |
| Storey County | Low | 25% | 99% |
| Washoe County | High | 41% | 96% |
| White Pine County | Low | 7% | 100% |
How these ratings are computed
Ratings come from USDA NRCS SSURGO soil survey data: for each soil component we take the maximum linear extensibility percent (lep_r) in the top 100 cm, apply the NRCS Handbook Part 618 class limits (Low under 3 percent, Moderate 3 to 6, High 6 to 9, Very High 9 and above), assign map units by plurality of component percent, and roll acres up to the county. Full details on the methodology section of the lookup page. A county rating is not a parcel-level geotechnical assessment.