Septic soil in Rutherford County, NC, by the numbers

Very limited

Soil across 67.5% of Rutherford 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 67.5% of Rutherford County's land. Rutherford County covers 565.437 square miles and counts 65,587 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Rutherford County, NC - never a reading for one specific parcel. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in Rutherford County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Rutherford 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.

Rutherford County's rank among North Carolina counties

Nationally, Rutherford County, NC is the 2,545-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within North Carolina alone it ranks 60 of 97.

Before you act on this

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