Well Drilling Cost in 2026: Price per Foot & Total New Well Cost

Well drilling costs $3,000 to $16,000 for a complete residential well, and most new wells average $5,500 to $9,000 with the pump, pressure tank, and permit included. Drillers price per foot, at $25 to $85 depending on the rock, so whether you call it well drilling or well digging, the price you're quoted depends mostly on how deep your local water table is.

Depth moves the estimate most, followed by geology. Sand and gravel are cheap to drill, while granite and other hard crystalline rock drill slowly and cost the most. The pump, pressure tank, casing, county permit, water line to the house, and a water test make up the rest of a new well's cost.

Well Drilling Pros connects you with independent local drillers, who check nearby well logs before quoting per foot. The ranges below are 2026 national figures from Angi, HomeGuide, HomeAdvisor, This Old House, and the other sources listed at the end of this guide. Use them to plan, and get a written per-foot quote before any drilling starts.

Typical national range

$3,000 – $16,000

Complete systems average $5,500–$9,000. Deep hard-rock wells in New England and the Rockies run well past this.

Cost breakdown

Item	Typical range	Notes
Drilling & casing per foot — sand / gravel	$25 – $40	Per foot. Soft soil is the fastest, cheapest formation to drill.
Drilling & casing per foot — sedimentary rock	$35 – $55	Per foot. Limestone, sandstone, and shale.
Drilling & casing per foot — granite / crystalline rock	$55 – $85	Per foot. Hard rock is the slowest, most expensive to drill.
Well pump, installed	$900 – $2,500	Submersible for most drilled wells; sized to depth and household demand.
Pressure tank, installed	$400 – $1,500	Stores pressurized water so the pump isn't running constantly.
Well permit (varies by county)	$200 – $500	Usually pulled by the driller and itemized on the quote.
Water and electric line to the house (per ft)	$50 – $150	Per foot of distance between the well and the house (HomeAdvisor, This Old House).
Professional water test	$100 – $500	This Old House and Bob Vila; HomeAdvisor puts lab testing at $50–$600 depending on the panel.
Geothermal well drilling (per ft)	$15 – $40	Per foot, drilling only (HomeAdvisor, This Old House). The heat pump and loop are extra.
Replacement casing — PVC (per ft)	$6 – $10	Material per foot, before labor (HomeAdvisor, This Old House).
Replacement casing — steel (per ft)	$30 – $140	Galvanized or stainless, material per foot: $30–$130 per This Old House, $36–$140 per HomeAdvisor.
Deepening an existing well	$3,000 – $6,000	About $35–$84 per foot (Bob Vila). More depth doesn't guarantee more water.
Hydrofracking a low-yield well	$2,000 – $7,000	High-pressure water opens rock fractures to raise yield (Today's Homeowner).
Sealing (decommissioning) an old well	$800 – $1,500	A typical abandonment, depending on depth and pump removal (City of Madison well program).

What changes the price

Providers quote their own work — these are the factors that consistently move the number.

Depth: the single biggest cost driver, set by your local water table — the national average is about 150 ft, but New England and Rocky Mountain wells commonly run 300–800 ft.
Geology: drilling runs $25–$40/ft through sand and gravel, $35–$55/ft through sedimentary rock, and $55–$85/ft through granite and crystalline rock.
Casing and grouting: unstable formations need extra casing beyond the standard footage, billed on top of the per-foot rate.
Pump and pressure tank: a complete system adds $900–$2,500 for the installed pump and $400–$1,500 for the pressure tank (installed) if you're not reusing equipment.
Distance to the house: water and electric lines between the well and the house cost $50–$150 per foot, so a well sited close to the house costs less to hook up.
Well use: irrigation and livestock wells are priced the same per foot but higher flow demands can mean a larger pump or larger-diameter bore.
County permits and access: permits run $200–$500 by jurisdiction, and remote or hard-to-reach drill sites add mobilization cost.

Well drilling price per foot, and what it includes

Well drilling runs about $25 to $85 per foot, and the rock under your lot decides where you land: roughly $25–$40 per foot through sand and gravel, $35–$55 through sedimentary rock such as limestone or shale, and $55–$85 through granite and other crystalline rock. HomeAdvisor puts an average residential well at $25–$65 per foot, with $25–$35 covering most jobs. The per-foot price usually includes the borehole and standard casing. Extra casing through unstable ground is billed on top.

To get the drilling cost, multiply the per-foot rate by the depth. HomeAdvisor's depth table prices a 100-foot well at about $3,550 with 4-inch PVC casing or $6,120 with 6-inch steel casing, a 200-foot well at $7,100–$12,240, and a 300-foot well at $10,650–$18,360. When you compare quotes, check whether each one covers drilling only or a finished, working system. The difference is the pump, tank, wiring, and plumbing covered in the next section.

Cost of a new well: well, pump, tank, permit, and water test

A working well needs more than the borehole. On top of drilling, budget $900–$2,500 for an installed submersible pump, $400–$1,500 for a pressure tank (installed), and $200–$500 for the permit. For a 150-foot well through sedimentary rock, that adds up to about $6,750–$12,750. The calculator above runs the same math for your depth and geology.

Some costs depend on your site. Water and electric lines from the well to the house cost $50–$150 per foot of distance. This Old House puts a professional water test at $100–$500, and HomeAdvisor puts lab testing at $50–$600. If the results call for treatment, This Old House prices whole-home systems at $500–$3,000 plus $200–$400 to install. Have a new well disinfected and tested before anyone drinks from it.

Building on raw land usually means installing a septic system too. This Old House puts a combined well and septic installation at $5,000–$22,000, and Bob Vila puts it at $5,000–$22,500. Site both systems early, because wells must be set back from septic tanks. In Florida's Southwest Florida Water Management District, for example, the minimum for a domestic well is 75 feet.

Shallow vs deep wells: drilled, dug, and driven well costs

Most homes get a drilled well. HomeAdvisor says most residential wells reach water at 100 to 300 feet, and drilled wells reach deeper water and are cased against contamination. Dug and driven wells cost less but only work where the water table is shallow. This Old House notes that digging is limited to about 100 feet and driving a pipe to about 50 feet. It prices driven sand point wells at $10–$25 per foot, or $200–$3,000 in total.

Bob Vila puts dug wells starting around $2,500, driven wells around $4,000, and drilled wells around $5,500. Shallow wells are more likely to be contaminated and to run low in a drought, so a deeper drilled well is usually the safer source of drinking water even though it costs more. A sand point well can still work as a backup supply or for watering a garden.

Geothermal well drilling cost

Geothermal wells are drilled for a ground-source heat pump, not for drinking water, and they cost less per foot. HomeAdvisor and This Old House both put geothermal drilling at $15–$40 per foot, and This Old House prices a single geothermal well at $3,500–$5,000. The borehole is only part of the job. This Old House notes that a full geothermal installation costs tens of thousands of dollars once the heat pump and loop are added.

A home system usually needs several bores. Bob Vila describes typical vertical-loop boreholes as 4 to 8 inches wide, spaced 10 to 20 feet apart, and 100 to 500 feet deep, with most installations needing 3 to 5 of them. Get the drilling quoted per foot like a water well, and compare it with the heat pump installer's quote, because loop length is sized to your home's heating and cooling load.

Well replacement cost: deepening, new casing, or a new well

Replacing a failed well means drilling a new one, so it costs the same $3,000–$16,000 as any new well, plus sealing the old one. The City of Madison's well program says a typical abandonment costs $800–$1,500, depending on depth and how easily the pump comes out. Rules on who may seal a well vary by state. Florida's Southwest Florida Water Management District requires an abandonment permit, though it doesn't charge for one. If the well still produces and only the pump has failed, you need a pump replacement, not a new well. That usually costs $974–$2,821 installed.

When a well runs dry or low, try the cheaper fixes first. Today's Homeowner says hydrofracking, which pumps high-pressure water down the well to open rock fractures, typically costs $2,000–$7,000. Bob Vila puts deepening an existing well at $35–$84 per foot, or $3,000–$6,000 in total, though a deeper hole doesn't guarantee more water. A new well carries the same risk. Before you sign, ask how the contract handles a dry or low-yield hole: whether you pay for all the footage drilled, and how hydrofracking or a second location would be priced.

A cracked, corroded, or collapsed casing lets sediment and surface water into the well, and it's fixed with new casing or a liner. Material alone runs $6–$10 per foot for PVC. Steel costs $30–$130 per foot according to This Old House and $36–$140 per foot according to HomeAdvisor, with labor on top. On an old well with badly failed casing, a new well can be the better buy. This Old House notes well equipment typically needs replacing every 20–30 years, at up to $10,000 in materials and labor.

How location changes the number

Regional depth norms drive most of the price spread: Gulf Coast wells (Louisiana, Mississippi) often finish at 85–100 ft, the Midwest and Southeast at 200–400 ft, and New England and the Rockies at 300–800 ft.

State anchors show the extremes: Mississippi's shallow water tables make it the cheapest state for a complete well (around $6,200), while deep hard-rock states like Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts can run $32,000–$38,500.

Cost to drill a well in Texas or Florida: Bob Vila's state table puts drilling at $30–$55 per foot in Texas and $15–$30 per foot in Florida. Texas requires no state-level site permit to drill a water well, but groundwater conservation districts and local ordinances may require a permit or registration, and drillers must be licensed by TDLR. In Florida's Southwest Florida Water Management District, every new well needs a construction permit and, apart from small owner-built wells, a licensed water well contractor. Domestic wells there must sit at least 75 feet from a septic tank.

Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee: Georgia requires a licensed water well contractor, who notifies the county health department before drilling. North Carolina requires a permit from the county health department, and each county sets its own fee to cover the site visit, water sampling, and lab testing. Tennessee requires a Notice of Intent before drilling, with a $75 state fee per property site. Deepening or reworking an existing well doesn't need one.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to drill a well?

Most complete residential well systems cost $5,500–$9,000, with a full range of $3,000 to $16,000. Drilling itself runs $25–$85 per foot depending on geology, plus $900–$2,500 for an installed pump, $400–$1,500 for a pressure tank (installed), and $200–$500 for the permit.

How much does it cost to drill a well per foot?

Roughly $25–$40 per foot through sand and gravel, $35–$55 through sedimentary rock like limestone or shale, and $55–$85 through granite. Quotes usually cover drilling plus standard casing per foot; extra casing through unstable formations is billed separately.

How much does it cost to dig a well?

Most people asking about a well digging price need a drilled well, which costs $25–$85 per foot and averages $5,500–$9,000 for a complete system ($3,000–$16,000 range). A true dug or driven shallow well costs less: Bob Vila puts dug wells from about $2,500, and This Old House prices driven sand point wells at $200–$3,000. They only work where water is shallow, though, and they're more prone to contamination.

How deep does a well need to be?

Whatever depth reaches a reliable aquifer under your property — the national average is around 150 ft, but Gulf Coast wells often finish at 85–100 ft while New England and Rocky Mountain wells commonly run 300–800 ft. Local drillers estimate from nearby well logs before drilling.

Does the drilling quote include the pump and pressure tank?

Often not — many drillers quote the borehole, casing, and grouting per foot and price the pump system separately. Ask for a complete-system quote so you can compare apples to apples: pump ($900–$2,500 installed), pressure tank ($400–$1,500 installed), trenching, and the permit.

How much does it cost to replace a well?

Replacing a failed well means drilling a new one, so budget $3,000–$16,000 (most complete systems average $5,500–$9,000), plus about $800–$1,500 to seal the old well. Casing repairs cost less: material runs $6–$10 per foot for PVC and $30–$140 per foot for steel, plus labor. If only the pump has failed, a pump replacement usually costs $974–$2,821 installed.

What happens if the driller hits a dry or low-yield well?

You can deepen the well ($3,000–$6,000, or $35–$84 per foot, according to Bob Vila), hydrofrack it to open rock fractures ($2,000–$7,000, according to Today's Homeowner), or drill in a new spot. Depth and yield aren't known until the rig is on site, so ask before you sign how the quote handles a dry or low-yield hole.

How much does geothermal well drilling cost?

HomeAdvisor and This Old House put it at $15–$40 per foot, and This Old House prices a single geothermal well at $3,500–$5,000. Most home systems need several bores, and the heat pump and loop installation cost substantially more than the drilling.

How much does a well inspection cost?

A well inspection runs about $250–$550 and is worth ordering before buying a home on a well — it covers water quality testing, flow rate, and the condition of the pump and pressure system, so you know what you're inheriting before closing.

Estimates only — independent local providers quote their own pricing. Data last reviewed 2026-10.

Sources

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