- French drain installation usually costs $1,650 to $12,500, about $5,000 typical.
- An exterior French drain to move water away from a house or soggy area.
- Price your own job with the calculator above; it breaks the job into lines.
What french drain installation costs
French drain installation usually runs $1,650 to $12,500. A typical job lands near $5,000. An exterior French drain to move water away from a house or soggy area.
| Price | |
|---|---|
| Low end | $1,650 |
| Typical | $5,000 |
| High end | $12,500 |
The range blends Fixr and Bob Vila (method below). Where you live matters: Koira's estimate is $4,425 in Mississippi and $5,740 in District of Columbia.
What drives the price
- Length and depth. Longer and deeper trenches cost more.
- Interior or exterior. Interior drains around a basement cost more than yard drains.
- What is in the way. Patios, driveways and landscaping have to be removed and put back.
French drain installation cost by state
Koira estimates for each state, built from the national $1,650 to $12,500. About 60% of a french drain installation price is labor, and only that part is scaled by the state's median wage for landscaping and groundskeeping workers. A starting point, not a quote.
| State | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $1,561 | $4,731 | $11,827 |
| Alaska | $1,866 | $5,655 | $14,138 |
| Arizona | $1,644 | $4,982 | $12,456 |
| Arkansas | $1,565 | $4,742 | $11,854 |
| California | $1,812 | $5,491 | $13,727 |
| Colorado | $1,817 | $5,507 | $13,767 |
| Connecticut | $1,817 | $5,505 | $13,763 |
| Delaware | $1,605 | $4,863 | $12,157 |
| District of Columbia | $1,894 | $5,740 | $14,349 |
| Florida | $1,598 | $4,844 | $12,109 |
| Georgia | $1,620 | $4,909 | $12,273 |
| Hawaii | $1,821 | $5,520 | $13,799 |
| Idaho | $1,712 | $5,188 | $12,970 |
| Illinois | $1,767 | $5,355 | $13,389 |
| Indiana | $1,623 | $4,917 | $12,293 |
| Iowa | $1,644 | $4,982 | $12,456 |
| Kansas | $1,655 | $5,014 | $12,536 |
| Kentucky | $1,587 | $4,810 | $12,026 |
| Louisiana | $1,542 | $4,672 | $11,679 |
| Maine | $1,823 | $5,523 | $13,807 |
| Maryland | $1,656 | $5,018 | $12,544 |
| Massachusetts | $1,891 | $5,730 | $14,325 |
| Michigan | $1,624 | $4,922 | $12,305 |
| Minnesota | $1,839 | $5,572 | $13,931 |
| Mississippi | $1,460 | $4,425 | $11,061 |
| Missouri | $1,634 | $4,952 | $12,380 |
| Montana | $1,807 | $5,475 | $13,688 |
| Nebraska | $1,650 | $5,000 | $12,500 |
| Nevada | $1,642 | $4,974 | $12,436 |
| New Hampshire | $1,795 | $5,440 | $13,600 |
| New Jersey | $1,706 | $5,169 | $12,922 |
| New Mexico | $1,610 | $4,879 | $12,197 |
| New York | $1,794 | $5,437 | $13,592 |
| North Carolina | $1,618 | $4,904 | $12,261 |
| North Dakota | $1,692 | $5,126 | $12,815 |
| Ohio | $1,627 | $4,930 | $12,325 |
| Oklahoma | $1,565 | $4,742 | $11,854 |
| Oregon | $1,799 | $5,451 | $13,628 |
| Pennsylvania | $1,659 | $5,027 | $12,568 |
| Rhode Island | $1,792 | $5,429 | $13,572 |
| South Carolina | $1,588 | $4,813 | $12,034 |
| South Dakota | $1,555 | $4,711 | $11,779 |
| Tennessee | $1,596 | $4,837 | $12,094 |
| Texas | $1,589 | $4,815 | $12,038 |
| Utah | $1,691 | $5,123 | $12,807 |
| Vermont | $1,829 | $5,544 | $13,859 |
| Virginia | $1,631 | $4,943 | $12,357 |
| Washington | $1,847 | $5,598 | $13,994 |
| West Virginia | $1,475 | $4,471 | $11,177 |
| Wisconsin | $1,703 | $5,159 | $12,899 |
| Wyoming | $1,629 | $4,936 | $12,341 |
Rural areas and cities in the same state can differ a lot.
How we got these numbers
We take the middle of the guides' lows for the low end, the middle of their highs for the high end, and the middle of their averages for the typical french drain installation price. Where a guide gives no average we use its midpoint. All read on October 9, 2026.
Labor share used: 60%. None of the guides splits labor out for this job, so this share is Koira's working assumption for lawn, trees and yard work. State factor: the state's median hourly wage for landscaping and groundskeeping workers over the national $18.82 (BLS, May 2025), kept between 0.7 and 1.4.
For contractors: price this job in Koira
Yard work is often seasonal and repeat, so turn a one-time job into a schedule the customer approves once.
Run the numbers for a real french drain installation in the free french drain cost calculator, then save the result as an estimate. On Koira's free Office plan you build the estimate, text it, collect the deposit and turn it into an invoice when the french drain installation is done. Price this job in Koira, free.
Sources: Fixr, french drain installation cost; Bob Vila, french drain installation cost; BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (state and national files). Prices checked October 9, 2026. More for your trade: how the trade runs on Koira.