Expansive Soil in Wisconsin: County Ratings
2 of the 72 rated counties in Wisconsin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County | Low | 3% | 93% |
| Ashland County | Low | 25% | 96% |
| Barron County | Low | 0% | 95% |
| Bayfield County | Low | 29% | 95% |
| Brown County | High | 49% | 81% |
| Buffalo County | Low | 4% | 95% |
| Burnett County | Low | 8% | 91% |
| Calumet County | Moderate | 35% | 76% * |
| Chippewa County | Low | 1% | 91% |
| Clark County | Low | 5% | 98% |
| Columbia County | Low | 1% | 91% |
| Crawford County | Moderate | 5% | 94% |
| Dane County | Moderate | 12% | 92% |
| Dodge County | Moderate | 0% | 88% |
| Door County | Low | 11% | 93% |
| Douglas County | Low | 25% | 93% |
| Dunn County | Low | 1% | 98% |
| Eau Claire County | Low | 0% | 98% |
| Florence County | Low | 0% | 98% |
| Fond du Lac County | Moderate | 12% | 88% |
| Forest County | Low | 0% | 97% |
| Grant County | Moderate | 22% | 97% |
| Green County | Moderate | 35% | 98% |
| Green Lake County | Low | 6% | 87% |
| Iowa County | Moderate | 38% | 98% |
| Iron County | Low | 2% | 94% |
| Jackson County | Low | 2% | 90% |
| Jefferson County | Moderate | 4% | 87% |
| Juneau County | Low | 2% | 94% |
| Kenosha County | Moderate | 14% | 90% |
| Kewaunee County | Moderate | 14% | 94% |
| La Crosse County | Low | 1% | 89% |
| Lafayette County | Moderate | 39% | 99% |
| Langlade County | Low | 0% | 98% |
| Lincoln County | Low | 0% | 97% |
| Manitowoc County | Moderate | 25% | 93% |
| Marathon County | Low | 0% | 95% |
| Marinette County | Low | 1% | 98% |
| Marquette County | Low | 1% | 87% |
| Menominee County | Low | 0% | 98% |
| Milwaukee County | Moderate | 13% | 59% * |
| Monroe County | Low | 5% | 96% |
| Oconto County | Low | 0% | 97% |
| Oneida County | Low | 0% | 90% |
| Outagamie County | Low | 18% | 93% |
| Ozaukee County | Moderate | 33% | 93% |
| Pepin County | Low | 3% | 93% |
| Pierce County | Moderate | 10% | 97% |
| Polk County | Low | 0% | 89% |
| Portage County | Low | 3% | 95% |
| Price County | Low | 0% | 98% |
| Racine County | Moderate | 14% | 90% |
| Richland County | Low | 19% | 99% |
| Rock County | Moderate | 7% | 98% |
| Rusk County | Low | 0% | 97% |
| Sauk County | Low | 1% | 97% |
| Sawyer County | Low | 0% | 92% |
| Shawano County | Low | 0% | 96% |
| Sheboygan County | Moderate | 28% | 92% |
| St. Croix County | Low | 2% | 97% |
| Taylor County | Low | 0% | 97% |
| Trempealeau County | Low | 1% | 97% |
| Vernon County | Moderate | 9% | 97% |
| Vilas County | Low | 0% | 79% * |
| Walworth County | Moderate | 0% | 91% |
| Washburn County | Low | 0% | 92% |
| Washington County | Moderate | 1% | 92% |
| Waukesha County | Moderate | 3% | 88% |
| Waupaca County | Low | 4% | 89% |
| Waushara County | Low | 6% | 92% |
| Winnebago County | High | 46% | 70% * |
| Wood County | Low | 5% | 93% |
* Less than 80% of this county's map acres have completed soil survey data; treat its rating as provisional.
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.