Stevens Point, Wisconsin: what the ground under the city is like
Stevens Point sits in Portage County, on central wisconsin sand plain. The soil mapped here is predominantly classified well drained — and that classification, not the rainfall total, is what decides how a basement behaves.
31% of the mapped soil area around Stevens Point is wet enough that the USDA describes it as needing artificial drainage.
Linear extensibility 2.0% — low.
Shallowest annual water table around 75 cm (2.5 ft).
Values are for Portage County, which is what the soil survey resolves to. Full county report · soil map for a specific address.
The ground under Stevens Point
Central Wisconsin Sand Plain. Sandy bed of glacial Lake Wisconsin, flat, with a high water table
Sand, but flat sand with the water table close behind it. Cracking is not the issue; a pump that runs through spring is. Easy to mistake for the well-drained sand country further north.
When it shows up here
| Water | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground movement | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Water peaks with the March–April thaw, when frozen ground stops absorbing and meltwater plus spring rain arrive together. If a basement here leaks once a year, that is when.
Climate pattern for this physiographic region, not a forecast for your house and not from the soil survey. It answers a question homeowners actually ask: when does this show up.
What repairs cost in Wisconsin
| Reference job | Modelled range |
|---|---|
| Interior drain along two walls + sump pump | $5,050–$10,850 |
| Exterior excavation of one 40 ft wall | $3,800–$10,800 |
| Underpinning on 10 piers | $15,000–$32,000 |
Regional factor for WI: ×1.00. Full cost breakdown for Wisconsin · run your own dimensions.
ZIP codes in Stevens Point
54481, 54482, 54492
Soil does not stop at a city boundary, and neither does this data — every ZIP code above resolves to the same county soil survey. For the individual survey polygons around one address, use the soil map.
Questions about Stevens Point
Is the soil the same everywhere in Stevens Point?
No. These values describe Portage County as a whole, which is the unit the soil survey publishes. Within a city, map units change over a few hundred metres — the soil map draws the actual polygons around a point and is the honest answer for one address.
Which contractor should I call in Stevens Point?
We do not rank or recommend individual firms and we are not one. What this page is for is knowing which kind of work the ground here points to before anyone quotes you, and which claim to check. If you want quotes, the form below passes your request to the named networks.
Does this replace an inspection?
No. It tells you what the ground is; an inspection tells you what your building is doing on it. The useful order is: read this, print the brief for your county, then have someone look.
Get quotes in Stevens Point
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