How much does it cost to drill a well in New Hampshire?

Drilling runs roughly $30 to $70 per foot, and a typical Lakes Region bedrock well is 200 to 500 feet. The New Hampshire average for a new drilled well is around $14,400. A complete system including pump, pressure tank and connection generally lands between $3,000 and $15,000 on top of the hole depending on scope.

Why can't a driller quote a fixed price for a well?

Because yield in granite bedrock depends on which fractures the bore happens to intersect, and nobody knows that before drilling. A well that hits a productive fracture at 240 feet can out-produce a neighbour's at 420. An honest quote is a per-foot rate plus an expected range, with an agreement about what happens if the hole runs long.

How much does hydrofracking a well cost?

Roughly $2,000 to $4,500 in this region. Hydrofracking uses water pressure to open existing fractures in the bedrock and frequently improves a marginal well. It works with the fractures that are already there rather than creating water, so it is not guaranteed — but on a low-yield bedrock well it is usually worth trying before drilling again.

Well Cost Estimator | What a New Well Costs in NH

1. What are you looking at?

Estimated depth 300 ft

Typical Lakes Region wells run 200–500 ft. Hill-country towns like Sanbornton, Bristol and Tuftonboro tend deeper than valley ground around Tilton.

2. Ground conditions

3. Site access for the rig

4. Include the pump system?

Estimated range

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Get a Written Estimate

The number that is not in this estimate is yield. You are paying for a hole; what you are buying is water, and nobody can tell you in advance how much the hole will produce. If a well comes in low, the remedies are hydrofracking, storage or deepening — all real, all costed separately. Any driller who quotes you a firm total with a guaranteed yield before starting is either padding heavily or setting up a conversation you will have later.

Context

What Actually Drives the Number

Depth, which nobody knows in advance
The per-foot rate is the easy part. How many feet is a function of where the water is, and in granite that is a fracture question. Local experience narrows the range; it does not eliminate it.
Overburden depth
Steel casing has to run through the loose material above the rock and be grouted into the bedrock. Deep overburden means more casing, and casing is one of the more expensive components per foot.
Access
A rig that can drive onto the site is a different proposition from one that needs matting, tree work, or careful manoeuvring on a steep lot. On wooded Squam and Newfound properties this occasionally decides where the well goes.
The system, not just the hole
Pump, pressure tank, pitless adapter, wiring, and the trench and line back to the house. Frequently as much again as modest drilling, and it is the part people forget to budget.
What happens if yield is low
Hydrofracking, storage or deepening. Worth agreeing the approach before drilling starts rather than negotiating it at 400 feet with a rig on site.

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Well Cost Estimator

1. What are you looking at?

2. Ground conditions

3. Site access for the rig

4. Include the pump system?

Estimated range

What Actually Drives the Number

Depth, which nobody knows in advance

Overburden depth

Access

The system, not just the hole

What happens if yield is low

Get a Written Estimate