Water Well Drilling Cost: Per Foot, All-In, and a Calculator

What does water well drilling cost?

The Well Guide's drilling cost guide (updated October 2026) puts a complete, working well at $7,000 to $16,000 for a standard 100 to 200 foot well, and about $9,000 to $13,000 for a 150 foot well. It says deep or hard-rock wells can reach $25,000 or more, and that the all-in number matters more than the per-foot rate. Every figure on this page and in the calculator comes from that guide, a commercial cost guide. Local quotes are the only real price.

Water well drilling cost per foot

Drilling alone runs $25 to $65 per foot nationally, about $40 on average. The rock sets the rate. The Well Guide gives $15 to $35 per foot in soft sand and gravel, and $45 to $85 in hard rock such as granite or basalt, which needs a different rig and wears through bits. Some drillers charge one rate for the first 100 feet and a higher rate below that. A per-foot quote rarely covers everything. The guide's own example: $40 per foot for a 200 foot well is $8,000, and adding casing, pump, tank, wiring, permit, and a water test brings it to $11,700 to $17,400.

What a complete well includes

• PVC casing: $6 to $11 per foot. Steel, where bedrock calls for it: $30 to $130 per foot.
• Submersible pump, 1/2 to 1 HP: $800 to $1,800.
• Pressure tank: $450 to $1,500.
• Electrical hookup, a 230 volt circuit from the panel: $1,000 to $3,000.
• Permit: $100 to $500.
• Water quality test: $150 to $400.
• Smaller lines: well screen, grout seal, well development, drop pipe and wire, pitless adapter, and the pressure switch and gauge.

All ranges are from The Well Guide (October 2026). Ask each driller which of these lines their quote includes.

Well drilling cost by region

Source: The Well Guide, October 2026. It names California as the most expensive state, because of deep water tables, hard rock, permits, and labor, and Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana as the least, because of shallow water and soft soil.

How to find the cost of well drilling near you

Depth is the biggest number in the estimate, and the best guide to depth is the wells already drilled around you. State drilling records list each well's depth, water level, and often the rock the driller hit. Our well lookup shows nearby well records in the states it covers, and every state's well records office is listed too. Take those depths to the drillers. Then get at least three written, itemized quotes from licensed drillers, as The Well Guide advises, and ask each one:

• What is your state license number?
• Is the quote drilling only, or a working well with pump and tank?
• Is the permit included?
• What happens if you do not find enough water? Is there a dry hole clause?
• Does the rate change below a set depth or in rock?

Is it legal to drill your own well?

In some states, yes, on your own land, but the rules still apply. The Minnesota Department of Health says all wells there must be installed by licensed contractors, except that an individual may construct a well for personal use on land they own or lease and use as their home or farm. The well must still meet state construction law and rules, and the state must be notified, under Minnesota Statutes 103I.205. In Texas, the definition of a water well driller in Occupations Code section 1901.001 leaves out a person who drills a well on their own property for their own use. Groundwater districts and counties can add their own rules.

The Well Guide says nearly every state requires a permit for a residential well, and most require a licensed driller. It adds that the only practical do-it-yourself well is a driven point in sandy soil with very shallow water, which it calls suitable for irrigation, not drinking water. Call your state well program before you buy any equipment.

Deepen the old well, or drill a new one?

When an existing well runs low, deepening it can cost less. The Well Guide gives $3,000 to $10,000 to deepen, with an uncertain outcome, against $8,000 to $20,000 for a new well, and says a well with a failed casing, a bad grout seal, or a lasting contamination source is usually better replaced. Our guide to a well running dry covers the cheaper options first: lowering the pump and adding storage. If the old well is abandoned, ask the driller to quote sealing it while the rig is on site.

After the well is drilled

A new well needs a water test before you drink from it, and the Minnesota Department of Health requires the contractor there to test for bacteria, nitrate, and arsenic. Our guide on how to test well water lists what to test for, and our well flow test guide explains how the new well's yield is measured. If bacteria show up, the well treatment guide explains the fix. Keep the driller's well record with your house papers; it holds the depth, casing, and water level every later repair starts from. For pump trouble later on, see well pump repair.