Septic soil in Pike County, PA, by the numbers

Very limited

95.3% of Pike County, PA'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 95.3% of the county. Pike County covers 544.896 square miles and counts 62,376 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Two lots a mile apart in Pike 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 Pike County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Pike 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.

Pike County's rank among Pennsylvania counties

Nationally, Pike County, PA is the 626-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Pennsylvania alone it ranks 26 of 66.

Before you act on this

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