What Los Angeles County, CA's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

57.7% of Los Angeles County, CA's surveyed soil comes back "Very limited" in USDA's own SSURGO data, the county's dominant condition for a septic absorption field. Expect the ground itself to work against a plain gravity system; USDA's strictest bucket alone covers 57.7% of the county. Los Angeles County covers 4,060.29 square miles and counts 9,757,179 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Nothing about Los Angeles County, CA's SSURGO figure applies to a specific address - it's a county-wide average. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Los Angeles County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles County, CA compares

Nationally, Los Angeles County, CA is the 2,769-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within California alone it ranks 57 of 57.

Before you act on this

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