Septic soil in Wythe County, VA, by the numbers

Very limited

Soil across 69.9% of Wythe County, VA rates "Very limited" in USDA's septic-absorption-field interpretation. That reading means a conventional system is a poor bet here - 69.9% of Wythe County lands in the strictest "very limited" bucket USDA uses. Wythe County covers 461.952 square miles and counts 28,100 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

Two lots a mile apart in Wythe 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 Wythe County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given Wythe 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 Wythe County, VA compares

Nationally, Wythe County, VA is the 2,464-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Virginia alone it ranks 70 of 110.

Before you act on this

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