Septic soil in Goochland County, VA, by the numbers
Very limited
51.2% of Goochland County, VA's surveyed soil comes back "Very limited" in USDA's own SSURGO data, the county's dominant condition for a septic absorption field. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 51.2% of Goochland County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Goochland County, VA is 282.042 square miles with a population of 28,223.
What Goochland County's reading doesn't cover
Nothing about Goochland County, VA's SSURGO figure applies to a specific address - it's a county-wide average. A local percolation test, typically $750-$1,850 (around $1,300 typical), is the only way to know what one lot in Goochland County will actually do.
What a system would cost here
With 51.2% of Goochland 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.
Goochland County's rank among Virginia counties
Nationally, Goochland County, VA is the 2,857-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 92 of 110.
Related guides
How this rating is built, and its real limits · Conventional vs. engineered septic systems