Clinton County, PA's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

85.8% of Clinton County, PA's surveyed soil comes back "Very limited" in USDA's own SSURGO data, the county's dominant condition for a septic absorption field. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 85.8% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. Clinton County covers 889.63 square miles and counts 37,865 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Clinton County, PA - never a reading for one specific parcel. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Clinton County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Clinton County's rating, plan for the engineered-system range rather than the conventional one. 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.

Clinton County's rank among Pennsylvania counties

Nationally, Clinton County, PA is the 1,633-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Pennsylvania alone it ranks 45 of 66.

Before you act on this

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