Montgomery County, NC's soil, for a septic absorption field

Very limited

Soil across 50.6% of Montgomery County, NC rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. This is the reading that pushes a project toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one, and it covers 50.6% of Montgomery County's land. Montgomery County covers 491.539 square miles and counts 26,364 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Two lots a mile apart in Montgomery County can carry different soil, even though they share one countywide rating. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Montgomery County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Montgomery 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 Montgomery County, NC compares

Nationally, Montgomery County, NC is the 2,870-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within North Carolina alone it ranks 84 of 97.

Before you act on this

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