Septic soil in York County, PA, by the numbers

Very limited

In York County, PA, 78.3% 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 78.3% of York County's land. York County covers 904.352 square miles and counts 471,240 residents.

This is a county figure, not a parcel figure

USDA's survey covers the whole of York County, PA at once, not any single address. A site-specific perc test, usually $750-$1,850, is what a health department will actually require before permitting a lot in York County.

System cost, conventional vs. engineered

Given York 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 York County, PA compares

Nationally, York County, PA is the 2,123-most-constrained of 3,058 rated counties for septic soil. Within Pennsylvania alone it ranks 55 of 66.

Before you act on this

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