Cayuga County's SSURGO septic rating

Very limited

USDA puts Cayuga County, NY at "Very limited" for septic absorption fields, the dominant reading across 73.3% of the county's soil. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 73.3% of Cayuga County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. For scale: 691.589 square miles and 74,567 people call Cayuga County home.

Before you rely on this for one lot

USDA's survey covers the whole of Cayuga County, NY at once, not any single address. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific perc test, running about $750-$1,850 (typically near $1,300).

Budgeting for a system in Cayuga County, NY

Cayuga County's soil reading pushes the likely outcome toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one. Conventional systems run $3,000-$8,000 where they pass; where they don't, engineered alternatives (mound or aerobic treatment, whichever the health department requires) run $10,000-$40,000 - budget toward the higher figure until a perc test says otherwise.

Where this sits nationally

Among the 3,058 rated counties on this site, Cayuga County, NY ranks 2,359 most-constrained nationally, and 56 of 61 within New York.

Related guides

How this rating is built, and its real limits · Conventional vs. engineered septic systems