Low risk About 4% of Cheshire County's soil area is high shrink-swell (expansive) clay — 2.4 times the New Hampshire average of 2%, and far below the national average of 17%. That places it #1 of 8 New Hampshire counties for foundation soil risk.
Share of the county's ~467,104 acres of USDA-mapped soil with linear extensibility ≥ 6% in the top meter (SSURGO).
| High shrink-swell (expansive) clay | 4% |
| Moderately expansive | 0% |
| Low / non-expansive | 96% |
| Foundation risk tier | Low |
| Rank in New Hampshire | #1 of 8 counties |
| Higher-risk than | 39% of all U.S. counties |
Expansive clay swells as it takes on water and shrinks as it dries, and that repeated movement is what lifts and drops a foundation unevenly — opening stair-step cracks, racking door and window frames, and, left unmanaged, cracking slabs and footings. Cheshire County's exposure is low-to-moderate. With just 4% high-expansive soil, expansive clay is unlikely to be the main driver of foundation movement in Cheshire County. Settlement here more often traces to drainage, fill, tree roots, or original construction — worth a diagnosis before paying for clay fixes.
Cheshire County's shrink-swell risk is concentrated in the Greenwood soil series alongside Borohemists and Ossipee — clays the USDA maps as strongly expansive, swelling and shrinking with every wet–dry cycle. Homes built on these series most need the drainage and moisture discipline above; a lot-level soil report (or the county NRCS survey) shows which one sits under a given address.
| County | High-risk soil | |
|---|---|---|
| This county | Cheshire County (#1 of 8) | 3.9% |
| Lower risk → | Hillsborough County | 2.6% |
For context, the average New Hampshire county is 2% high-expansive soil and the average U.S. county is 17%.
Foundation repair is one of the most over-sold jobs in home services — quotes for the same house can vary 3×. Before you sign anything, learn how to get honest bids and what a fair price looks like.
How to get repair quotes →Costs follow the same structure everywhere — from a few hundred dollars for a single crack injection to $8,000–$25,000+ for pier stabilization on a settling home. At this risk level the clay is rarely the culprit, so a proper diagnosis is the first dollar to spend. See the full foundation repair cost guide for method-by-method pricing.
Risk metrics are computed from USDA SSURGO soil survey data (linear extensibility of soil components, area-weighted by county). Soil varies lot to lot — this is county-scale context, not a substitute for a site-specific geotechnical or structural assessment.