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Ogallala Aquifer: how deep the wells are

Home water wells that draw from the Ogallala Aquifer in the Panhandle, the South Plains and the Permian Basin are typically 125 to 258 feet deep (median 161 ft, 12,389 wells drilled in the last 10 years). In the state's model it is sand, gravel, silt and caliche. It carries the most weight in Ochiltree County (98% of its wells), Parmer County (96% of its wells) and Castro County (95% of its wells). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $6,500 to $16,000.

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

Depth of wells in the Ogallala Aquifer, by countyThe dot is the median and the bar the middle half for each county. The table below has the figures.0100200300400 ftLubbockLubbock: 146–189 ftLubbock: 162 ft162GainesGaines: 155–215 ftGaines: 184 ft184MidlandMidland: 80–118 ftMidland: 96 ft96RandallRandall: 270–312 ftRandall: 285 ft285HockleyHockley: 135–169 ftHockley: 150 ft150PotterPotter: 250–305 ftPotter: 300 ft300MartinMartin: 70–110 ftMartin: 80 ft80LynnLynn: 130–145 ftLynn: 140 ft140AndrewsAndrews: 100–120 ftAndrews: 110 ft110TerryTerry: 115–159 ftTerry: 140 ft140EctorEctor: 115–138 ftEctor: 125 ft125Deaf SmithDeaf Smith: 264–362 ftDeaf Smith: 325 ft325

Under Lubbock, Lubbock County

Dot: median. Bar: middle half (25th to 75th percentile). Counties with the most wells in this layer.

What this layer is

The Ogallala is sand, gravel, silt and caliche that rivers spread east from the Rocky Mountains millions of years ago. It lies under almost all of the Texas Panhandle and the South Plains and is the main source of water there, for farms, towns and homes alike. Most home wells from Dallam County to Gaines County draw from it.

Units the model puts in this layer: Ogallala Formation, with the Blackwater Draw and Tahoka formations and other Quaternary cover on top.

Checked against the state's own aquifer codes: where our method names this group, the state agrees in 98% of 11,766 wells.

Source of the layers: TWDB's High Plains Aquifer System model, with half mile cells, read here on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles.

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
125 to 258 feet
Median depth
161 feet
Deepest 10% are past
323 feet
Water level (median)
178 feet
4,229 wells
Yield (median)
16 gpm
3,199 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
12,389
In the last 10 years
All years on file
20,085
median 155 ft, since 1971
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

Counties where homes draw from this layer

Only counties with at least 10 wells in the layer. The share is of the county's wells that the model covers.

Depth of wells in the Ogallala Aquifer, by countyThe dot is the median and the bar the middle half for each county. The table below has the figures.0100200300400 ftLubbockLubbock: 146–189 ftLubbock: 162 ft162GainesGaines: 155–215 ftGaines: 184 ft184MidlandMidland: 80–118 ftMidland: 96 ft96RandallRandall: 270–312 ftRandall: 285 ft285HockleyHockley: 135–169 ftHockley: 150 ft150PotterPotter: 250–305 ftPotter: 300 ft300MartinMartin: 70–110 ftMartin: 80 ft80LynnLynn: 130–145 ftLynn: 140 ft140AndrewsAndrews: 100–120 ftAndrews: 110 ft110TerryTerry: 115–159 ftTerry: 140 ft140EctorEctor: 115–138 ftEctor: 125 ft125Deaf SmithDeaf Smith: 264–362 ftDeaf Smith: 325 ft325
Dot: median. Bar: middle half (25th to 75th percentile). Counties with the most wells in this layer.
CountyMedian depth (ft)WellsShare of the county's wells
Lubbock County1622,54772%
Gaines County1841,97756%
Midland County961,91359%
Randall County2851,45938%
Hockley County15059087%
Potter County30052760%
Martin County8047458%
Lynn County14030270%
Andrews County11029371%
Terry County14028964%
Ector County12527610%
Deaf Smith County32516891%
Moore County43113576%
Howard County9013341%
Hale County31011050%
Dawson County16010877%
Castro County3769295%
Roberts County4808781%
Lamb County2388367%
Parmer County4038196%
Lipscomb County2957474%
Gray County4807270%
Donley County1507161%
Bailey County2406788%
Carson County4556175%
Yoakum County1715461%
Ochiltree County4205198%
Hartley County5405052%
Armstrong County2654950%
Oldham County3234176%
Dallam County5083940%
Crosby County3453686%
Hansford County4803474%
Cochran County1983241%
Sherman County4443075%
Swisher County2042793%
Floyd County3632469%
Hemphill County2602467%
Wheeler County1522465%
Briscoe County2271345%
Dickens County3061021%
Hutchinson County5051040%

Places where it is the main layer

Where it sits among the model's layers

From top to bottom, with the median depth of the home wells that draw from each:

Layer (state's model)RockMedian depth (ft)Wells
Ogallala Aquifersand, gravel, silt and caliche16112,389
Pecos Valley Aquifersand, gravel and clay18090
Edwards-Trinity and Rita Blanca (Cretaceous rock under the Ogallala)sand, sandstone and limestone1635,214
Dockum Groupred mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate2506,009

Depth over time

Home well depth in this layer has not changed meaningfully in 20 years: the median was 157 feet in 2003 to 2007 and 164 feet in 2021 to 2025 (a difference under 10% or within the margin of error).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–20051581,394
2006–20101502,305
2011–20151253,250
2016–20201585,282
2021–20251646,794
20261641,055

Common questions

How deep is a well in the Ogallala Aquifer?

Home water wells that draw from the Ogallala Aquifer in the Panhandle, the South Plains and the Permian Basin are typically 125 to 258 feet deep (median 161 ft, 12,389 wells drilled in the last 10 years).

What is the Ogallala Aquifer?

The Ogallala is sand, gravel, silt and caliche that rivers spread east from the Rocky Mountains millions of years ago. It lies under almost all of the Texas Panhandle and the South Plains and is the main source of water there, for farms, towns and homes alike. Most home wells from Dallam County to Gaines County draw from it.

How deep does the water stand in these wells?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 178 feet below the surface (4,229 wells), close to the bottom: the typical well holds only about -17 feet of water.

What a well in this layer costs

At the median depth for this layer (161 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $6,500 to $16,000: $25 to $60 per foot for drilling, casing and seal, plus $2,500 to $6,500 for the pump, pressure tank, controls and hookup at the well. Across the whole middle half of depths (125 to 258 feet) the range runs from $5,500 to $22,000. This is TerraFunded's estimate from published Texas prices, not a quote, and it leaves out trenching and the line to the house. Get prices from at least two licensed drillers.

How these numbers are made

We count new and replacement domestic (home) wells with a valid depth on their report. We use the last 10 years when there are at least 30 wells; otherwise all since 2001. The median is the middle well and the middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.

To tell which layer a well draws from, we take the ground elevation at its location, subtract the depth of the interval where water enters (or the bottom of the hole when the report does not give one) and see which layer of the state's model that point falls in.

For 97% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

How well it works: In 22,814 wells in the Texas part of the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (the Panhandle, the South Plains and the Permian Basin) where the State of Texas recorded the aquifer, the formation our method says the well draws from (as grouped on these pages) is the one the state recorded in about 75% of them; when it names the Dockum (4,542 wells), the state's record agrees only about 33% of the time, and most of the others are recorded as Ogallala wells.

  • The layers come from the Texas Water Development Board's High Plains Aquifer System model, with half mile cells, read here on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles. It is a regional model, not a survey of any lot.
  • The state's model has half mile cells; we read it on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles, Texas part only. Layers from version 1.01 (2015); the 2025 extension (1.02) did not change them. It is not a survey of any lot, so we give ranges.
  • Figures go by four groups: Ogallala; Pecos Valley; Edwards-Trinity and Rita Blanca (Cretaceous rock under the Ogallala; the Rita Blanca alone matched the state 19%); Dockum (upper and lower together: the state's codes almost never say which). The Edwards-Trinity group joins three aquifers in different places (High Plains around Lubbock, Plateau around Midland and Odessa, Rita Blanca in Dallam and Hartley): county and place pages name the local one where they can.
  • Dockum: when our method names the Dockum, the state's record agrees only 33% of the time over all years (61% for wells with a screened interval, which is 93% of home wells of the last 10 years); most of the rest are recorded as Ogallala wells. The median well we put in the Dockum ends about 18 ft under the base of the Ogallala as the model draws it. So these pages say "at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum", never a certain formation. The state's own 2025 report on this model says depth alone overstates the upper Dockum.
  • "Near or below the base" means the well ends near or below the base of the Dockum, or of the Ogallala where there is no Dockum (Permian red beds; Gray, Carson, Donley, Moore and north Potter counties). Half of these wells end within about 51 ft of the base, and the state usually records them as Ogallala or Dockum wells. That is not an error: the model simply ends there.
  • For old wells without a screened interval (bottom of the hole) the method is only a little better than always saying Ogallala (65% against 58%); with an interval it is 89% against 80%. Figures over all years carry that weakness; last 10 years figures rest almost entirely on intervals.
  • We never use the model's water levels. The water level on this page is the one each driller measured when the well was finished.

These are depths of real wells drilled nearby, not a promise about any property. Groundwater can change over short distances and with drought. A licensed water well driller can tell you what to expect on a specific tract.

Read the full methodology · Download the data (CSV, CC BY 4.0)

How to cite

TerraFunded (2026). Texas Well Atlas: Underground. From Texas Water Development Board driller reports and groundwater availability models (data as of November 10, 2026). https://terrafunded.com/wells/formations/ogallala. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources