Septic soil in Colfax County, NM, by the numbers

Very limited

In Colfax County, NM, 90.1% of the surveyed land carries a "Very limited" rating for a standard septic drain field. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 90.1% of Colfax County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Colfax County covers 3,757.976 square miles and counts 12,307 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Colfax County, NM at once, not any single address. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Colfax County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Colfax 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.

Colfax County's rank among New Mexico counties

Nationally, Colfax County, NM is the 1,261-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within New Mexico alone it ranks 1 of 29.

Related guides

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