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12 findings from 20 years of Texas water well reports

These are 12 things the state's own driller reports show about water wells in Texas. Each one has a page with the answer in a paragraph, the full table by county, a CSV of that table, what the figure does and does not show, and the sources to check it. The figures are rebuilt with each update of the state file (now the one of November 10, 2026).

Updated every day from Texas Water Development Board driller reports. Last update: November 11, 2026, using the state file of November 10, 2026.

  1. The water in new Texas wells sits 10 feet lower than 20 years ago

    When a home well was finished in Texas in 2003 to 2007, the water settled at a median of 90 feet below ground (57,571 wells). In 2021 to 2025 it settled at 100 feet (47,483 wells): 10 feet lower, with a 95% interval of 9 to 10 feet.

  2. In 36 Texas counties, new wells are at least 10% deeper than 20 years ago

    Of the 180 Texas counties with at least 30 home wells in both 2003 to 2007 and 2021 to 2025, 36 now drill at least 10% deeper with statistical confidence, and 20 of them 20% or more. The largest change is in Cherokee County, where the median went from 260 to 450 feet (+73%; 113 and 232 wells).

  3. Texas home wells run from 36 feet in Wichita County to 1,100 in McLennan

    The typical home well drilled in Texas in the last 10 years is 250 feet deep (123,925 wells), but the county decides almost everything. Among the 245 counties with at least 30 wells, the median runs from 36 feet in Wichita County (76 wells) to 1,100 feet in McLennan County (88 wells).

  4. A water well in Texas costs about $9,000 to $21,500 at the typical depth, and the county changes it most

    At the Texas median depth of 250 feet, a complete home well would cost roughly $9,000 to $21,500 by TerraFunded's estimate. At each county's own median depth, the estimate runs from $3,500 to $8,500 in Wichita County (36 feet) to $30,000 to $72,500 in McLennan County (1,100 feet).

  5. In McMullen County, home wells run from 130 to 2,806 feet

    In some Texas counties the neighbor's well says little about yours. In McMullen County, 8 of every 10 home wells fall between 130 and 2,806 feet, a spread of 2,676 feet (54 wells, since 2001).

  6. Texas drilled a record 16,057 home wells in 2022

    2022 is the busiest year in the state's driller reports: 16,057 new and replacement home wells, ahead of the 15,429 of 2006. The quietest year since 2003 was 2010, with 8,691.

  7. Parker County drilled 7,242 home wells in 10 years, more than any other in Texas

    From 2016 to 2025, drillers reported 123,517 new and replacement home wells in Texas. Parker County leads with 7,242, 1.9 times the 3,845 of Randall County in second place.

  8. 78 of the 254 Texas counties have no groundwater conservation district

    On the state's map of groundwater conservation districts (TCEQ, map dated December 17, 2025), no district covers 78 of the 254 Texas counties. In those counties there is no district that requires a permit or a registration for a household well.

  9. The typical Texas home well gives 25 gallons per minute, but only 12% of the figures come from a pump test

    Drillers reported a median yield of 25 gallons per minute for Texas home wells, with the middle half between 15 and 50 (89,555 wells, last 10 years). Only 12% of those figures come from a pump test; the rest are quicker tests or the driller's estimate.

  10. In 7 Texas counties, new wells are shallower than 20 years ago

    Of the 180 Texas counties with at least 30 home wells in both 2003 to 2007 and 2021 to 2025, only 7 now drill at least 10% shallower with statistical confidence, against 36 that drill deeper. The largest change is in Cameron County, where the median went from 115 to 70 feet (−39%; 352 and 82 wells).

  11. In the Hill Country, the water in new wells stands lower in 8 of 10 counties

    This page covers the 10 counties with home wells inside the state's groundwater model of the Hill Country part of the Trinity Aquifer. Their home wells differ widely: the median runs from 240 feet in Gillespie County to 540 feet in Kerr County, across 11,262 wells.

  12. Around Dallas-Fort Worth, home wells run from 55 feet in Dallas County to 1,020 in Collin

    The Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area has 11 counties by the federal definition. Rockwall has too few home wells for a figure, so the table has 10 counties.

Where the figures come from

For journalists and researchers

Every table is free to use with credit under CC BY 4.0, and each page gives the sentence to cite. If you need the figures of one county or a cut we have not published, write to us.

The full method · All open data · The 20-year study