Septic soil in Chester County, TN, by the numbers

Very limited

Soil across 94.2% of Chester County, TN rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. Expect the ground itself to work against a plain gravity system; USDA's strictest bucket alone covers 94.2% of the county. Chester County, TN is 285.736 square miles with a population of 17,876.

What Chester County's reading doesn't cover

Two lots a mile apart in Chester County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide rating. A local percolation test, typically $750-$1,850 (around $1,300 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Chester County will actually do.

What a system would cost here

With 94.2% of Chester County rating "Very limited", a standard gravity system is not a safe assumption here. The engineered-system range, $10,000-$40,000 (mound or aerobic treatment), is the more realistic number to plan around, against $3,000-$8,000 for a conventional system on the rare lot that passes.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Chester County, TN is the 757-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Tennessee alone it ranks 9 of 95.

Before you act on this

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