Hughes County, SD: the USDA septic-suitability picture

Very limited

Hughes County, SD: USDA's soil survey calls 78.9% of the county "Very limited" for a septic leach field. Practically, that rules out a simple gravity system for most of the county - 78.9% of it sits in USDA's most-constrained bucket. For scale: 741.527 square miles and 17,526 people call Hughes County home.

Before you rely on this for one lot

Two lots a mile apart in Hughes County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide rating. The real answer for one lot is still a site-specific perc test, running about $750-$1,850 (typically near $1,300).

Budgeting for a system in Hughes County, SD

Hughes County's soil reading pushes the likely outcome toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one. Conventional systems run $3,000-$8,000 where they pass; where they don't, engineered alternatives (mound or aerobic treatment, whichever the health department requires) run $10,000-$40,000 - budget toward the higher figure until a perc test says otherwise.

Hughes County's rank among South Dakota counties

Among the 3,058 rated counties on this site, Hughes County, SD ranks 2,096 most-constrained nationally, and 52 of 66 within South Dakota.

Related guides

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