Septic soil in Dade County, MO, by the numbers

Very limited

Soil across 93.6% of Dade County, MO 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 93.6% of the county. Dade County covers 490.01 square miles and counts 7,622 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Dade County, MO - 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 Dade County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Dade 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.

How Dade County, MO compares

Nationally, Dade County, MO is the 855-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Missouri alone it ranks 58 of 114.

Before you act on this

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