What Worcester County, MA's soil rates for a septic system

Very limited

In Worcester County, MA, 86.5% of the surveyed land carries a "Very limited" rating for a standard septic drain field. This is the reading that pushes a project toward an engineered system rather than a conventional one, and it covers 86.5% of Worcester County's land. Worcester County covers 1,510.67 square miles and counts 881,248 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

This is a countywide, area-weighted figure across every soil survey map unit in Worcester County, MA - 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 Worcester County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Worcester 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.

Worcester County's rank among Massachusetts counties

Nationally, Worcester County, MA is the 1,574-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Massachusetts alone it ranks 5 of 14.

Related guides

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