How Deep Is My Well? Find Your Well Depth by Address

Well depth records by address

Most states keep driller logs that you can search by address or location. Start with our state well records page, or go straight to your state: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. Some older logs are filed by township, range, and section, not by street address.

Where do I find my well's drilling record?

When a driller finishes a well, most states require a report, often called a well log, a well construction report, or a well completion report. It lists the total depth, the casing diameter, the static water level, and often the yield. Our well lookup searches 19 states' databases from your address and shows the nearest records. For every other state, our state records page links the official office. A log lists the owner and the address at the time the well was drilled, Wellowner.org says, so search the old owner's name or a nearby address when your own comes up empty.

Why does my well have no record?

Most often, the well is older than the state's records. Each state started at a different time:

Even inside those years, records are not complete. The Minnesota Department of Health says its index does not hold every well, and that no record does not mean no well. The Wisconsin DNR notes that for wells built before 1988 you should search by township, range, and section, not by address. Hand-dug and driven wells, and wells drilled before a state's rules, are the ones most often missing.

Where else to look for your well depth

• The well tag. Look on the casing for a metal tag with an ID number. In Washington, WAC 173-160-311 makes the owner responsible for a tag on every well, and the state gives one on request. The ID finds the record in the state system.
• Your closing papers. A well inspection or lender water test from the purchase may list the depth.
• The driller and the county. UGA Extension (revised April 2026) says to contact the company that drilled the well, since drillers often keep records. Washington's Department of Ecology says local health departments and drilling companies can hold logs that never reached the state.
• Neighbors. Penn State Extension (June 2025) says neighbors who had a pump replaced or a well drilled, and local drillers, often know the groundwater depth in your area. A neighbor with a record is a fair guide to yours.
• Area water levels. The USGS points to state drillers' logs and its National Water Dashboard for water table depth, and warns that those databases do not always have current data.

How to measure well depth and water level

Wellowner.org says a depth check is done by tying a weight on a tape, and suggests a contractor's tape or a downhole camera as other options. The Oregon State University Extension guide EC 1368 (reviewed 2024) describes the wetted-tape method with a lead weight on a steel tape, an electric sounder, and the air-line method. For the water level, the USGS says an electric tape is accurate to about 0.01 foot and is safer in a pumped well because there is less danger of lowering it into the pump. It also says to disinfect the part of the tape that went into the water, so you do not carry bacteria from one well to another.

Opening the well is the risky part. The Minnesota Department of Health says to turn off power to the pump first, confirm it with a voltmeter, keep the wires outside the casing, and never remove the compression bolts on a compression-fit well seal. In a well with a submersible pump, the wire and pipe fill the casing and a tape can snag. That is why the most common moment to learn a well's depth is when a pro has the pump out.

How many gallons are in my well?

Depth alone does not size anything. The number that matters is the water standing in the well: total depth minus the static water level, times the gallons per foot for the casing. UGA Extension gives this table and a worked example: a 6-inch well with 204 feet of water holds 204 times 1.47, about 300 gallons.

Those gallons size every treatment the well will ever get. If you have no record, our typical well depths by state give an honest starting estimate.

What type of well do I have?

The type tells you the depth range. The EPA (updated September 2026) says dug wells have a large diameter and are shallow, about 10 to 30 feet. Driven wells are cased all the way and shallow, about 30 to 50 feet. Drilled wells can be thousands of feet deep and need a casing. A wide concrete or stone ring is a dug well. A narrow steel or plastic pipe a few inches across, sticking up from the ground, is usually a drilled well.

Average well depth

There is no single average that fits your well. Depth depends on the well type and on the rock and water under your land. The EPA gives ranges by type: dug wells about 10 to 30 feet, driven wells about 30 to 50 feet, and drilled wells that can reach thousands of feet. See typical well depths by state for a starting guess when you have no record.

Can I get a record made for my well?

In some states, yes. Washington's Department of Ecology takes a "Well Report for an Existing Well" from an owner whose well has no log, with the depth, casing size, and water level a contractor measured. In Minnesota, a seller must disclose every well on the property before signing a purchase agreement, and file a well disclosure certificate if none was filed before. If you are selling, see our guide to selling a house with a well. If the well is running low, start with the dry well guide, and if the pump is acting up, the pump guide.