What Dickinson County, IA's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

Soil across 78% of Dickinson County, IA rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 78% of Dickinson County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Dickinson County, IA is 380.532 square miles with a population of 18,158.

What Dickinson County's reading doesn't cover

USDA's survey covers the whole of Dickinson County, IA at once, not any single address. A local percolation test, typically $750-$1,850 (around $1,300 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Dickinson County will actually do.

What a system would cost here

With 78% of Dickinson 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.

Dickinson County's rank among Iowa counties

Nationally, Dickinson County, IA is the 2,139-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Iowa alone it ranks 86 of 99.

Before you act on this

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