Jefferson County, GA's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

In Jefferson County, GA, 50.9% 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 - 50.9% of Jefferson County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Jefferson County covers 526.555 square miles and counts 15,019 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of Jefferson County, GA 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 Jefferson County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Jefferson 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.

Where this sits nationally

Nationally, Jefferson County, GA is the 2,863-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Georgia alone it ranks 101 of 159.

Further reading

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